


put myself in destructive situations

by sofarsoperfect



Category: NCT (Band), SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Arrest, Based off of Love Death & Robots S01E01 Sonnie's Edge, Genetic Engineering, Genetically Engineered Beings, Inaccurate depictions of the legal system, Kissing, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Social Commentary, Stealing, Vaguely Futuristic Society, criminal activity, jail time, non-graphic injury, past Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Suh Youngho | Johnny, side Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Lee Taeyong, side Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Qian Kun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:16:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 31,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29470065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sofarsoperfect/pseuds/sofarsoperfect
Summary: “Woo,” Johnny says, voice softly. Jungwoo finally looks at him, tilting his head down to meet his eyes. “What do you think they’ll do? With whatever they have."“It’s beastie tech?” He asks. Johnny nods. “Turn it into their next great beastie. I don’t know what they stole but if it matters to Seungcheol that much it must be state of the art. They stole it to be the best and chances are they’re chomping at the bit to get that fucker open and start fucking with its genetic makeup. See what makes it tick. If we go in there and get it out, whatever it is, if it’s a full beastie we’ll essentially be saving their life.”The line between living and artificial intelligence is a thin one in beastie technology.
Relationships: Suh Youngho | Johnny/Yoon Jeonghan
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	put myself in destructive situations

**Author's Note:**

> well, here we are again. no excuses, it just is as it is. this one gave me a hell of a time, kind of had a life of its own, really. thanks to mars & sharks, those lovely, lovely humans who let me scream vaguely and beta'd this beast for me. i would be nothing without them, truly. 
> 
> *there is a company mentioned in this fic that i make heavy commentary on. the commentary in this fic does not reflect my opinions of them in real life and that is all i have to say about it. any further commentary on the things said about the company in question in this fic in the comments will be deleted. thank you.  
> *title: we've got a big mess on our hands by the academy is...  
> *beta'd

The lights above the bar entrance flicker unevenly, in and out in a neon beat as two figures walk towards it. It’s dark, but that’s both the nighttime and the smog that permeates everything in the city. The taller of the two heads down the narrow stairs to the underground bar first, flashing his ID to the bouncer outside the door. The second one follows and when they step inside they push their hoods off their heads. Their cloaks are a little heavy for the time of year but it’s not uncomfortable, a cold snap still breezing through the city, until they get into the bar. Their cloaks come off and the taller of the two tucks his hands into his pockets as he wanders over to the curve of the bar. 

The bar is full of people this evening, a little bit cloying and claustrophobic because of it. Even so they wander through the crowds, used to the upstream feeling of it until they get their normal seats at the bar. The back corner curve is a popular place for them and their cloaks end up tossed on top of the counter as the tender wanders over to take their orders. 

“The usual?” he asks and the taller of the two nods. The bartender sketches him a salute before he’s off again and the shorter one rests his elbows on the bar counter, looking around. The lights in here are dim neons, casting everything in a pink / green / orange glow, making it hard to see anyone. It’s the nature of a place like this though and he knows the minute they get here he’s going to know. More than anything he just wants to see who might be around to eavesdrop. 

It’s a Wednesday, there’s not much to be said about the crowd in here, normal middle-of-the-week bar goers and when he turns back around the tender is placing two drinks down in front of them. One of them has a red umbrella in it and the shorter one picks it out of his glass, closing it with his fingertips. The taller takes a long drink of his before nodding to the corner of the bar nearest them. 

The door tucked into the back of the establishment is labeled with a big metal plaque that says EMPLOYEES ONLY but they don’t even read it as they push their way through. The door swings shut behind them, leading them into a hallway that is decorated with doors. Offices, the kitchen, employee bathroom but the very end is an open doorway with stairs that they descend. Their ice clinks around in their tumblers as they walk down and when they get to the bottom they’re welcomed by incandescent light bulbs and a few other men. Three of them are chatting to themselves at the table but at the bar there’s a lone man with his dark hair falling in his eyes while he makes a drink. 

The shorter of the two rests a hand on his companion’s arm before departing to meet the men at the table while the taller approaches the bar. 

The room isn’t big but the bar is stocked and when he gets there the man glances up before looking back down with a small smile on his lips. He pours himself a drink from the shaker, setting it aside when he’s done. 

“Johnny,” he greets him, voice low but honey coated. 

“Seungcheol,” Johnny replies. He doesn’t sit at the bar, just sets his glass down and drops the red umbrella into it. Seungcheol doesn’t even react as he takes a long sip of his drink. “I didn’t know we were meeting down here,” Johnny tells him conversationally, long brown hair falling into his eyes. 

“I didn’t want to draw attention,” he says, setting his own glass down. It’s a highball and there are three ice cubes stacked one on top of the other inside of it, spinning lazily. “Normally I don’t mind having business conversations upstairs but this is a little more difficult to explain if someone overhears,” Seungcheol explains and Johnny tilts his head, leaning a little further on the bar. 

“What’s the deal?” 

“Not a deal,” he corrects him. “I need you to do an errand run for me.” Johnny groans, wrists resting on the bar as he leans back. Seungcheol chuckles, shaking his head at Johnny’s dramatics. “C’mon, John, I don’t know a lot of people who would be willing to go out on a limb for me and I promise I’ll pay you every penny it’s worth even. Please, I need someone to do this.” 

“What is it?” Johnny asks, leaning forward again to meet Seungcheol’s gaze. 

“I can’t tell you that,” he says and Johnny levels him with a hard, unimpressed glare. “Listen, you’ll know it when you see it. I can describe the tanker it’s being kept in and I can almost guarantee you you’ll be able to get it back in one piece. I just can’t tell you what’s in it.” Seungcheol explains, folding his arms on the bar, leaning forward. Johnny lifts a brow. 

“This is beastie tech, isn’t it?” 

“Technically… yes.” 

“Cheol-” Johnny huffs. 

“Look, when I tell you this is the most important piece of beastie tech S.V.T. has ever made I am being a hundred percent honest. This technology is some of the most difficult we’ve ever created and it’s priceless in value. I will pay you top dollar for bringing it back to the company,” Seungcheol insists. 

“How much?” 

“How much do you want?” 

Johnny laughs, shaking his head as he grins. It’s a stupid question but Seungcheol doesn’t avert his gaze. He keeps his attention on Johnny the whole time as though he’s being serious. Johnny has known Seungcheol for a long time and he knows that Seungcheol doesn’t just say things. If he says it he means it and Johnny leans a little further forward, gauging his reaction. 

“Never ask a man that question, Cheol,” Johnny tells him but he merely shrugs a shoulder. “How much are you willing to pay us?” 

“I can pay out a solid hundred grand for everyone on the job,” Seungcheol tells him and Johnny tilts his head back and forth in consideration. “C’mon, John, don’t do this. You and I both know you’re gonna do me this favor. And I’m in a jam.” 

“You make me nervous offering such a steep payout from a small company like yours without telling me the errand you need me to run,” Johnny says. “So tell me the truth, Seungcheol. What am I doing for 100k per person?” 

“I need you to get something back from BigHit for me.” 

“You think my men are worth 100k per?” Johnny asks, face morphing into one of disbelief. “Absolutely not. You better be willing to pay out the big bucks if you want us to go anywhere near that death trap.” Seungcheol leans back with a groan. “Cheol, I don’t know what the fuck you lost to those guys but there are a lot safer things I could be putting my men through for the same payout you’re offering. I know I owe you but c’mon.” 

“Johnny, I need you to do this,” Seungcheol insists. Johnny sits down on a stool then, leaning heavily on the counter. He lifts his drink to his lips, lifting his brows as though to prompt Seungcheol to keep talking. “Look at Joshua,” he tells him and Johnny lowers his drink hesitantly before turning to look. 

Johnny’s partner is still with the others in the room and Johnny can spot Joshua from where he’s sitting. Joshua’s hair is black now, falling a bit into his eyes but it doesn’t hide the bruises he has. They’re bad, black and blue where they ring his left eye and jaw, a cut running the length of his jaw right through the bruise. He doesn’t move as though it bothers him though and it’s starting to yellow around the edges. It’s not new but it’s not old yet either. Neither of the other two, Jihoon and Soonyoung, seem to be in such poor shape but it’s hard to take your eyes away from Joshua once you see it. 

None of the people in this room are particularly foreign to the concept of a bruise or cut. They’re definitely not some of the most upstanding people in this society and Johnny himself has suffered a fair amount of bruises ever since he got started doing what he does. They’re a bunch of no-good thugs to the general public and they reflect that in their thick denim jeans, combat boots and multiple holsters up and down their clothing. Johnny has four on his person right this second. But that should suggest that they are more than capable of handling themselves in a fight. 

So that begs the question: who fucked Joshua up so much that he looks like that?

“Let me guess,” Johnny starts slowly, turning to face Seungcheol again. “Security breach in the labs.” 

“He got there first and they no mercied his ass,” Seungcheol admits. “It looked worse when it happened if you can believe it. Someone tipped those fuckers off on what’s in our labs and I can’t risk them letting that information out. We need it back and I can’t risk some randoms off the street going in and destroying it on the way out. When I tell you I need you to bring that tanker back in perfect condition I cannot be more serious. I trust you to do this for me.” 

“What’s in it?” Johnny asks. 

“I told you, I can’t say,” Seungcheol sighs and Johnny rolls his eyes, leaning away. “I know that’s not what you want me to tell you when I’m asking you to go into a place as fucked as BigHit but I need as few people as possible to know about it as I can. When you bring it back, and I know you will,” Johnny scoffs, “I’ll be more than happy to show you. But I need it back first.” 

“I want one mil on my team,” Johnny says and Seungcheol groans. “I got a good team but if this goes tits up I want some decent payout when I have to replace them,” he points out and Seungcheol drops his head forward, lifting his eyes only when he stares at Johnny. “It’s that or no deal, Cheol. I know I owe you but I gotta make a living on occasion.” 

“Okay,” he breathes. Johnny smiles. “Alright, Suh, you win. I’ll put one mil on your team and you’ll get 300k as prepay.” Johnny lifts a brow. “I need that tanker back. Perfect condition, John. Bring it back and I’ll give you the rest.” 

“Fine,” Johnny agreeds. He offers a hand, which Seungcheol gladly shakes. “This better be worth all my men’s skin, Cheol.” 

“It is. Trust me.” 

Lingering after a deal isn’t usually Johnny’s style but there are more things between Johnny and Seungcheol than a simple deal. He and Seungcheol have a long history together and when they migrate over to the table together he takes in his partner’s curious gaze but doesn’t mention it at the table. Just as well, he doesn’t think Kun is going to appreciate what he just agreed to do for Seungcheol but, if all goes well, it might just be one of their best agreements to date. 

That all depends on how the errand goes, however. 

It was dark when they arrived and it’s dark when they leave, Seungcheol promising to send Johnny the information over transfer when he gets the chance. Johnny agrees and ushers Kun back out of the bar before he can start asking questions. He really needs to explain this to his partner in a situation where Kun won’t feel comfortable shooting him dead and leaving him there to rot. Making his death difficult is a really good thing to keep in mind when talking to Kun about unpleasant things considering how fond of his blaster he is. 

The cable cars are running on 30 minute loops but they manage to catch one, scanning their IDs before heading to the back. It’s near deserted except for a few late night runners, a college student or two. They can settle in the back without anyone giving them a second glance, cloaks wrapped around them, Johnny turning to watch the rain drizzle down around the cable car, pinging gently off the metal casing. 

They get off in the warehouse district some hour or so later. It’s a long way from the middle of the city but a necessary one and when they hop off the cable car they’re the only ones left on. The cable car will swing around and head back up the way it came a few blocks from here and the two of them leave the main drag to get into the rest of the warehouse area. 

The smog is thinnest here but it is, by no means, ‘thin’ the way it floats along the ground like an omnipresent fog around their boots and calves. Their masks make them look like even darker spectres as they walk through the unsleeping warehouses, always a sound to be heard. Whether it’s the snap and sizzle of welding or the heavy grind and hiss of operating machinery there’s always something to be heard. The steady drips of condensation off roof eaves are the most eerie, mostly because you can’t be sure it’s always condensation that’s making that noise. 

Even so, Johnny and Kun saunter their way through the back alleys of towering metal buildings, some still full and operating but many more empty shells of what once was. They don’t pay it any mind, even when lights are still on and they can feel the burn of eyes on their skin. People have long since stopped trying to bother them and when they reach their own warehouse Johnny disarms the alarm and keys the code to the door quickly, the two of them sliding inside. 

Sheet metal walls are poor insulation for a home but they make due with what they have. They could go home but they won’t tonight. Tonight they’ll probably fall asleep in the situation room, on the floor or the table or the threadbare couch. If Johnny sleeps at all, his head is already full of concerns regarding how they’re going to be dealing with what he’s agreed to do for his old friend. 

“What did Cheol want?” Kun asks, putting his things up. Johnny’s fingers falter a bit on the alarm pad. He finishes keying them in a second later and then joins Kun at the racks and shelves, pulling his own things off. Their squad has often said their leaders sleep with their guns and while it isn’t necessarily true they both noticeably keep one blaster on them while they put up their cloaks and boots. Johnny’s not sure why that is but his is definitely for self preservation when Kun keeps the one on his thigh. 

“He wanted us to… uh… run an errand for them,” Johnny explains slowly. He turns and heads into the warehouse, Kun pausing at the shelves. He closes his box a little harder than necessary, following Johnny up the stairs through the main room and into the upper level. Most of the warehouse doesn’t actually have rooms, it’s mostly just open area and the second floor is only two thirds the size of the bottom floor, predominately made up of the situation room, a large glass window allowing them to peer down at the floor below. When Johnny gets up there Kun is hot on his heels while Johnny goes to pull down the map of the city. 

“Johnny,” Kun says in warning. Johnny stops, hands on his hips at the map. “Johnny, I thought we agreed that retrieval missions can be difficult to complete, especially if we don’t know what we’re getting.” Johnny clears his throat awkwardly. “Why are we running an errand for Seungcheol?” 

“Because he asked,” Johnny sighs, turning around to face his partner, who looks halfway pissed. “Because he was desperate. He knows we don’t run errands anymore, that’s not what we do, but he needs someone good at their job because he needs what he’s looking for brought back in perfect condition. That’s what he said, perfect.” 

“What is it?” 

“I don’t know.” 

“Goddammit, Johnny!” Kun shouts, throwing his hands. “Are you fucking kidding? You don’t even know what we’re supposed to be getting and you’re just blindly agreeing to help Seungcheol retrieve whatever the fuck he lost? From where?!” Kun demands. Johnny looks away from him and out the high windows of the warehouse. It’s still pitch black outside and he has a worry for a moment that it’s going to be the last thing he sees, the pitch black of this night, especially if he pisses Kun off even more. 

“BigHit.” 

“You-” Kun bites back his anger. He wants to scream. He wants to fucking throw things at his partner for this. “We agreed we’d stop taking such high risk missions. That it’s not worth it when we can make plenty to clothe and feed ourselves and our squad without losing anyone in the process. Why the fuck would you agree to take a retrieval favor from Seungcheol, someone who can barely afford us for cheap jobs, to get back an item that I can only presume BigHit stole from him?” Kun asks, words bitten out in restrained anger. 

“Because he’ll pay one mil for it,” Johnny states and Kun barks a humorless laugh. “You think he won’t?” Johnny replies, turning around to look at his partner. “I’ve known Seungcheol a long time, Kun. If he’ll pay-” 

“He’s willing to pay that much you know it’s a bad idea!” Kun shouts. “You think I didn’t see Joshua tonight. The man got the shit beat out of him, probably by BigHit thugs. He’s lucky he’s alive and you want us to go into one of the biggest, baddest beastie manufacturers buildings to get… something we don’t even know what it is?!” He explodes, eyes nearly bugging out of his head. “Johnny, we could die. Those fuckers don’t even play by beastie rules, they’re fucking ruthless. We all know they steal beastie tech. If whatever the fuck S.V.T. had was valuable enough to steal, clearly they will kill to keep it.” 

“Therefore, it’s worth something,” Johnny retorts. “Seungcheol practically begged me to get it back for him. He said I could name my price and when I said one mil he agreed. Barely deliberated on it,” Johnny points out. Kun shakes his head at him. “And he swore, if we bring it back, he’ll show us what’s in the tanker. But we have to get it back, perfect condition.” 

“‘Perfect condition’? That’s almost impossible,” Kun tells him. “The minute they see us trying to take a tanker out of their facility they’ll be on us like white on rice. If we don’t die they’ll shoot that shit to smithereens if it means no one else gets to have it. I say bow out, Seungcheol’s asking for something that cannot be done.” 

“It can,” Johnny assures him. “It can and I’m going to make it.” 

“You’re fucking insane!” Kun exclaims. “I get it, you owe Seungcheol a lot but you want to put all of us in danger for what? A little bit of beastie tech? If Seungcheol figured it out BigHit was on the case already. S.V.T. just moved their plan up a whole lot. We were going to get here eventually. I think he should just let it go.” 

“You don’t pay one mil for something you’re just gonna let go,” Johnny points out. Kun rolls his eyes emphatically. “Look, you don’t have to go with me. I’ll bring some of the others,” he says and Kun turns to him with huge eyes. “But Seungcheol is willing to pay out the ass for this. I’m doing the man a favor asking for one mil and still doing the job. Any other scoundrel will take the money and steal the product. He needs me to do this. And you know damn well he can’t.” 

Kun sits then, pulling out a chair at the conference table and putting his face in his hands. He doesn’t know where he went wrong, allowing himself to be associated with Johnny J Suh but here he is. When he lifts his head he presses his palms together and puts the side of his index fingers against his mouth. He lifts his eyes to Johnny sitting across from him, elbows on the table. It’s not very often Johnny looks serious about something, especially a favor. 

Generally, favors come and they go. That’s the nature of them. People who are desperate for an item, information, what have you, come to their door and beg them to listen and they turn them down again and again if it’s not worth it. They’re not street rats, they’re a well oiled machine and they don’t take pocket change for their skills. Overall they’ll pass off low paying, low skill jobs and tell them to look for some thugs that will do it. They’re not scared of missing an opportunity and they’re never going to be.

But this is not a generic favor and they know it. Seungcheol needs someone good, someone elite to get this done for him and he wouldn’t be asking if he didn’t know it and know for a fact that Johnny will do it. Anyone else would be eviscerated if they even stepped foot onto BigHit grounds and that’s a well known fact. Whatever they have of his, it's important enough to steal and important enough to beat the shit out of one of Seungcheol’s men for. That’s scary but that’s also the point. 

Seungcheol is a desperate man and this is very apparent the longer Kun thinks it over. 

“This is not going to be easy,” Kun says, voice low and controlled in the silence of the room. “If we don’t think about this carefully none of us are going to get out of there and then the whole thing is a loss. It doesn’t matter how much Seungcheol is willing to pay if we’re all dead.” 

“I know,” Johnny admits. “I know. But if anyone can do it it’s us.” 

“I hope you’re right about that.” 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know I was signing up to die for a beastie,” Yuta says, throwing himself back in his seat. Johnny sighs loudly at the front of the room. “I know those things are ‘living creatures’,” Yuta says, complete with finger quotes, making Renjun snort from his place at the table. “But I’m not putting my life on the line for them. No thanks.” 

“No one is going to die,” Kun says pointedly. “The plan is to get in, get the tanker, get out. Minimal recon, minimal movement. We’re not drawing attention to ourselves, we’re going to lie through our teeth to these BigHit thugs and get the fuck out of there before they even know who we are.” 

“You think that’ll work?” Jungwoo asks from the middle of the table. “Those BigHit guys seem pretty intense. They probably have that thing on a 24 hour watch if they stole it. And what happens if they already opened it and took what was inside?” 

“It’s key coded,” Johnny explains. “Seungcheol sent the information to me this morning. The chamber’s fluid filled and pressurized with a 12 digit key.” Mark whistles lowly from where he’s sitting. “It’s going to take a lot more than just some guess work to open the thing. And it’s beastie tech, they know that if they break it open they run the risk of contamination or just straight up destroying whatever’s inside.” 

“Do they know what’s inside?” Renjun asks. 

“Unclear,” Kun admits, flipping through the transfers Seungcheol sent them. “They might but they also might not. Depends on how much information they got from the source, which Seungcheol doesn’t know for sure where it came from in his company. He’s doing check ups now but he’s not certain. If they don’t know they’re as lost as we are but if they do the firing squad might be a little more locked and loaded.” 

“So we go in blind?” Jaehyun asks, lifting a brow. 

“No,” Johnny says. “Did you all forget that I have friends in high places?” he asks, Sicheng and Dejun sharing a look while Kun looks on, also a little bit exasperated by his partner. “I know a few people in construction and when I reached out I was able to get a blueprint from one of the men who worked on the construction of the facility,” Johnny informs them. When he clicks a button on his remote the center of the table lights up, a glowing sphere of blue light rising to show them the blueprint. 

“Shit,” Jeno mumbles. “That place is huge.” 

The BigHit facility is certainly not small by any stretch of the imagination, with a large office building, a manufacturing warehouse and an on-grounds laboratory. It takes up quite a bit of space where it’s situated just outside of the city, next door to it’s massive titanium and concrete stadium where it hosts the bulk of it’s beastie battles. Rare is it that a pilot from the company will fight anywhere other than the BigHit stadium, which has been a bit of a point of contention. 

A point of contention that many people believe BigHit buys out of the tabloids. 

“We’re not entirely sure where exactly it is that they’re holding the tanker but since they took it from the S.V.T. labs we’re pretty confident that’s where they’ll be keeping it,” Kun says, waving his hand around the plexiglass and metal building next to the main offices. “The plan is to go in with some forged paperwork about transferring it to a facility on the other side of the city, which they have.” 

“What makes you sure it’s here then?” Sicheng asks, leaning on the table. 

“It’s close to S.V.T. and closer to the police. BigHit practically has them in their pockets and if it looks like a robbery of their materials they can convince the police to do whatever they want. Of course, we won’t be tipping the police, for obvious reasons,” Johnny comments with a smile. 

No evidence is ever left behind at their scenes. Some people think they’re lucky or they’re supernatural or they have the police in their pockets, but it’s never true. It’s just that one thing Neo Culture Technology has always had a handle on was this: never leave a trace behind. No matter the cost. 

“Simple in and out procedure,” Kun brushes off, closing the folder. “We don’t plan on needing more than a handful of us. Jungwoo, you’ll be on driving duty, since you have the Class A license,” Kun states and Jungwoo nods. “Sicheng, Dejun, you’re on lab tech and Jeno, Jaehyun, you two and Johnny will be on transfer duty. You’re in charge of moving the tanker. I’ll be in the truck with Jungwoo as security. As long as everyone knows what they’re doing we’re good to go.” 

“I don’t like it,” Yuta admits. “I know we’re the best people for this but something about that place just gives me the heebie jeebies. You really think some forged paperwork and a convincing story will get you and the tanker out of the BigHit labs without turning yourselves into target practice?” He asks, folding his hands to rest on his stomach. 

“I think… we have to be prepared for slight plan deviations,” Kun admits. Sicheng sits up and pins Kun with a pointed look. “Look, nothing about this looks good. To be honest, I don’t like it either,” he says honestly and Johnny huffs. “But this is a good payday and without us the retrieval is totally impossible. Seungcheol is willing to pay top dollar to get a tanker of beastie tech out from underneath BigHit in perfect condition but not telling us anything about it. Whatever it is matters so we’re gonna do it. I know that sucks but we don’t have any other options.” 

“Yeah we do. It’s called saying no,” Renjun points out. “How much is our skin worth?” 

“A cool one mil total on delivery,” Johnny states and Renjun’s brows go up while Mark leans forward on the table. “Seungcheol’s already put up 300k on this deal and the rest is ours once it’s safely been returned to S.V.T. Labs. If this goes well it’s worth it.” 

“And if it goes poorly?” Dejun asks. 

“Seungcheol’s gonna be paying a lot more than just our cut. I’m sure of that.” 

Johnny does stay up a considerably longer time later going over the plan in detail. It’s, by far and wide, not their most elegant of plans but it will do the job so long as they don’t hit any speed bumps. It’s very simple and generally that’s the easiest way to go about things, especially in terms of companies. There is always one person, no matter the place on the ladder, that only shows up to work to make a paycheck and go home and ultimately, it’s not that hard to find them. Going in, not making a ruckus and not bringing attention to themselves is their best bet to get in, get the tanker, and get out without getting peppered. 

“You don’t think it’ll be that easy, do you?” Jungwoo asks in the doorway of the situation room and Johnny nearly has a heart attack when he says it out of the blue. Jungwoo chuckles softly, walking further into the room to take a seat on the table next to Johnny, feet in the chair beside his boss. “You’re up kind of late to be so sure of this plan.” 

“I am sure of this plan,” Johnny insists. “I just… it’s scary, y’know?” He says and Jungwoo nods. “I know that this’ll work. We’ve done simpler things than this and gotten in and out without a scratch but this is… BigHit. Those people run the fucking city, the fucking beastie rings, the fucking…” 

“The entire industry of battles,” Jungwoo comments. He pulls his legs up to sit cross legged on the table. Johnny turns his face up to look at his squad member. 

His friend. Everyone in this squad is his friend before they’re his coworker, someone he can, and on occasion, has taken a fragment for. He’s been in some tough spots and they’ve bailed him out the same way he’s bailed them. There’s no one he trusts more than these guys to get him in and out of a tough situation with little to no injury. They’re practically family. So, understandably, when he looks up at Jungwoo, the dim lights catching the luminescent purple-ish blue ink of his sweet pea tattoos climbing up the side of his neck and down the length of his arm, Johnny fears he’s walking them all into danger. 

“You know,” Jungwoo begins, still looking forward, out the glass wall, the high windows of the warehouse, “I know this isn’t safe. I know that getting close to BigHit could get us all killed but, I think I’m going to enjoy taking them down a peg,” he explains and a soft smile comes onto Johnny’s face. “All they’ve ever done is control things. Ever since they got that power they’ve been trying to control everything, paying everyone off, getting people to throw battles for them. They say they don’t but… we all know they do. They tried to pay me.” 

“What was the deal?” Johnny asks, voice soft. 

“If I threw the battle they’d pay me twice the winning rate and they’d get me a new one, pay for all the bells and whistles, like my beastie was easily replaceable,” Jungwoo says, voice turning toxic and thick. “And they’d sign me as a new pilot. I didn’t want all that, I loved Chimaera. So they destroyed her.” 

Johnny remembers it well, a footnote in the news about the latest beastie battle at the BigHit Arena. It was when Johnny was still working in the industry, he and Jungwoo had crossed paths before, Jungwoo and his monitors. Johnny will never forget the gleam of Jungwoo’s eyes, the spark of a well versed and successful beastie pilot, and his adoration for his beastie, an eight foot tall lioness with sparkling, reptilian blue-violet eyes, talons and a serpentine tail. She was a beaut, that was for damn sure, and Johnny remembers how she was nothing more than a paragraph in the paper, another lost beastie in a round against a BigHit pilot. She was totally unsalvageable, scraped for her genetic makeup to make another, more powerful beastie in BigHit’s labs. 

And Jungwoo was left with nothing. 

“Woo,” Johnny says, voice softly. Jungwoo finally looks at him, tilting his head down to meet his eyes. “What do you think they’ll do? With whatever they have. You know BigHit better than any of us.” 

“It’s beastie tech?” He asks. Johnny nods. “Turn it into their next great beastie. I don’t know what they stole but if it matters to Seungcheol that much it must be state of the art, something BigHit doesn’t have yet and they’ll be damned if someone debuts something before them. They stole it to be the best and chances are they’re chomping at the bit to get that fucker open and start fucking with it’s genetic makeup. See what makes it tick. If we go in there and get it out, whatever it is, if it’s a full beastie we’ll essentially be saving their life.” 

The line between living and artificial intelligence is a thin one in beastie technology. Beasties, in their most base form, are nothing more than artificial genetic makeup, a form of genetic synthesis, built off of cloning technology of the previous generations and stem cell research. They’re not considered living because nothing about them is organic in conception, built entirely from pieces of genetically modified organisms and cells created in laboratories. It’s how beastie fighting is legal, the fact that they don’t die because they were never living to begin with. 

These are the sad truths of how most of these beastie companies make their money. When they destroy one they take the genetic makeup from the loser and rebuild it from the ground up until it’s stronger, faster, better. They aren’t creatures to them but play things. Inorganic material that they can just regenerate and try again with.

Smaller pilots, like Jungwoo, don’t think the same way. Beasties are closer to pets, no matter where they come from. Jungwoo doesn’t talk about Chimaera so Johnny has no idea how she came into existence but many people will pay labs to make them, are deeply involved in their genetic makeup, their features, their creation. They’re made to fight but that’s not all they are. They can be saved, labs can boost their cellular regeneration until they’re like new, care for them, treat them like the creatures they are. But very few do. 

“Do you think it’s worth it?” Jungwoo asks. And Johnny swallows. 

It’s like Yuta said, no one in their right mind would sign up to put their life on the line for a beastie. There are some people who are willing to protest the abuse, make beastie fights illegal, but they’re still only living in theory. Maybe it’s not worth it, going in there and almost getting themselves killed for it but it’s better than leaving it in there to die. 

Because God only knows what they might do to it. 

“Can I help you?” The guard at the lab’s gate asks. Jungwoo hangs his arm out the driver’s side window, the ID badge hanging from his hand. 

“Choi Minho, I’m here to pick up a tanker,” he says. The guard takes the ID from his hand and flips it open. The ID for the license is correct and he flips to the BigHit badge. His eyes flick between the ball cap wearing driver and the ID in hand for a moment before handing it back over. “My colleagues are coming up behind me. They got IDs for the lab by the shores. Squints, y’know?” 

“Oh, I know,” the guards sighs, rolling his eyes as though exasperated with the mere thought of dealing with some out of the area scientists. When he presses the button for the gates he waves Jungwoo through the large metal gates with a careless hand. Kun settles back in his seat on the passenger side, Jeno, Johnny and Jaehyun tucked safely away in the back. The box truck is just the right size to be transporting a beastie tanker and they drive through without hassle. 

It doesn’t take much for Jungwoo to find the docking stations, rolling the car around with ease to back up into it. Kun clutches the handle above the window while Jungwoo giggles, the turn fast and sharp. He resists the urge to cut his gaze to the side knowing he has to try and keep his cool in front of these lackeys. 

When Jungwoo parks he turns to Kun, who hops down and out. Sicheng and Dejun are parking not far away and the three of them meet up to get into the building. The giant metal and glass structure belonging to the BigHit labs towers above them as they walk up, Kun trailing after the two of them like a security detail. They need to get inside to let the boys out to get the tanker on the truck. They’re hopeful that if the gates are that easy the inside of the labs are as well. 

“State your name and business,” the man at the front says and Kun pulls out his ID for the man. 

“Hao Delun, I’m part of the security detail from the shore side BigHit labs,” Kun informs him, pulling his blaster holster from his side. It lands in the bucket heavily while the guard reads over Kun’s identification. He waves him through, pushing the ID badge and blaster alongside the metal detector. 

Sicheng and Dejun both only have a handful of paperwork and their IDs and they slide through after Kun as he’s putting his holster back on, badge tucked into his jacket. Kun wonders briefly how good the security actually is here if he’s able to walk through it with a fake ID and a blaster on his belt. BigHit really ought to reconsider their security measures if three random men can walk in so easily. He doesn’t dwell on it, though, they have plenty of other things they have to get through before they can consider this a successful retrieval. 

“I’m sorry,” Sicheng says, voice turned meek. “We haven’t been here before. Can you point us to the loading docks?” He asks the guard softly. The guard sighs but rattles off a few directions, down the stairs, to the right, he’ll see it immediately. Sicheng thanks him profusely before going on his way, Kun waving them in front of him. He and Dejun are excellent actors, he considers as he follows them down the stairs and into the basement of the laboratory facility. 

It is, apparently, right in front of them and Dejun tries the door. When it doesn’t open Kun huffs and goes to the line of windows on the wall, knocking on the one directly next to the door. A supervisory guard looks over and Kun waves to the door impatiently. The man comes over to let them in, a crease in his brow. 

“Badges not working?” He asks, propping it open for them to get inside.

“Shore side labs,” Kun replies shortly. The man nods as though in understanding. “We tried them but they denied access. That a location thing?” He asks as Sicheng and Dejun scurry inside ahead of him. Kun loiters by the door, letting it shut behind him. 

“Yeah, I think they’re too cheap to update the scanners, to be honest with you,” the man says. “Not like it matters, my badge fucks the door half the time anyway,” he goes on and Kun rolls his eyes emphatically. “Fucking stupid. Might as well just give us all fucking keyrings.” He says this all as they wander over to where he was standing previously, a vantage point that allows him to see all of the massive docking bay. 

Three large docking bay doors line the outside wall, the farther to the right being the one Jungwoo is parked behind. Kun saw the elevator down at the end of the hallway, most likely an industrial dumbwaiter that’s meant for tankers to be taken from the higher lab floors to down here so they can be taken to manufacturing. Most of the room is empty but industrial shelving units line the walls floor to ceiling, large ladders hanging off the sides of them. Small machinery is tucked into the shelves and there’s a nook on the far left where a handful of technicians are. 

One of them moves to greet Sicheng and Dejun and there’s a single lonely tanker resting on the floor. That must be it. 

“Cheap ass corporations,” Kun mutters and the man hums in reply. “Hao, from the shore side,” he introduces himself.

“Min,” he replies. “What brings you?” 

“Transporting a tanker,” Kun replied. “Babysitting,” he mutters under his breath. Min’s eyes glance to the side when Kun jerks his head in Sicheng and Dejun’s direction, where they’re talking with the lab tech. Kun assumes he’s higher up, the way the others fret around behind him while he speaks with Sicheng and Dejun. “I don’t know what the fuck’s so valuable about this tanker but they got two of us on this detail, the other guy’s in the truck. Xue and Song are taking point on trying to decode the keypad.” 

“Good fucking luck,” Min scoffs. “We still don’t know how many digits.” 

_So they don’t know much either_ , Kun thinks, turning to see Sicheng and Dejun walking around the outside of the tanker. It’s large, probably seven feet tall, a meter in diameter. It’s big but it’s not any bigger than a normal beastie tanker, unassuming. The most telling thing on it is the keypad on the outside of the latch door, three latches running down the side and the keypad keeping it locked tight. 

“Any word on what might be in it?” Kun asks, voice low. 

“Fucking I dunno, don’t care. My men nearly broke their backs trying to get it,” Min says and Kun’s eyes dart up and down the man. He’s just a bit shorter than him, with thin, feline eyes and a generally displeased expression on his face. “Between you and me, I think it was a waste of time,” he says and Kun lifts a brow. “The lab it came from is about the size of a shoebox in comparison to us. I don’t know what the hell they could have that we don’t. Tip came off this spunky, annoying kid in their lower level, I couldn’t remember his name if I tried, but he didn’t give us anything other than the insistence that the owner was really keen on whatever was being done in his labs. I don’t think it’s worth much but maybe you guys can find something.” 

“Hope it’s worth driving all the fucking way over here,” Kun mutters getting a low chuckle from the supervisory guard.

“The keycode is longer than ten digits,” the technician tells them. He’s an eccentric one with silver rimmed glasses sliding down his short, shallow nose. He has to push them up practicality every other minute because of the way he gestures wildly. Kim, Sicheng recalls him telling them his name. “But that’s as far as got. Hell of a long keycode pattern, they really didn’t want this thing open.” 

“How long have you had it?” Sicheng asks as Dejun scribbles notes down in shorthand. Sicheng can’t be sure if they’re real notes or not, the shorthand is too messy to understand. 

“About a week,” he explains with a sigh. “I understand why they want to take it over to the shore side labs, safety protocols, but I really don’t know what to do. Some of the guards think cracking the thing will be easier and yes, sure, but what good is it when we could destroy what’s inside. I want to see the whole beastie before I start taking it apart, y’know?” 

“All these guards are so impatient,” Dejun mutters. When he lifts his head he gives Kim a smile. “We’ll take good care of her, I promise.” 

“Hey, we’re on a tight schedule here!” Someone yells from the back of the truck, banging on the drop down door. Kun rolls his eyes next to Min and walks over to lift the dock and the truck’s drop down doors. “Ga-lee, what the hell’s taking so long?” Johnny complains. “Some of us got union mandated lunch.” 

“Over here!” Sicheng says, waving them over. Kun wanders back over to Min, who’s chuckling softly. 

“Union mandated lunch, my ass,” Min mutters. “They just wanna get outta here before the big man shows up. Which, I don’t blame them.” 

“Nah, they’re just impatient,” Kun sighs. “You know how some of those meatheads at the warehouse can be.” 

“Tell me about it.” 

“Watch out!” Jaehyun shouts as he, Johnny and Jeno heave the tanker onto its side. It tips over easily and they can hear whatever’s inside sloshing about in the liquid. Johnny doesn’t like the sound of that and they work a little bit faster to carry it over and onto the back of the truck. It lands evenly and Johnny inspects the outside for damage. Not a scratch on her. Thank God. “We’re locked and loaded, boys!” Jaehyun calls out as Jeno latches the tanker into place. The track on her is beastie tanker specific, the holds meant to latch onto the bottom of the cylinder’s footing. Kun waves a hand and Jaehyun pulls down on the doors, shutting them tightly. 

“You mind if I glance the paperwork?” Min asks and Kun turns to look at him. “They said they didn’t want to transport her because of how we acquired her but after a week, no progress, I get it. I just gotta look. Policy, y’know?” He states and Kun nods. 

“Sure. Hey, Xue!” Kun calls and Dejun scuttles over. “You got the transfer forms?” He asks and Dejun slides them out of his case to hand the folder over. Kun turns it over to Min. “It’s all in there, from the higher ups to the lower downs.” 

Min looks it over, flipping through the pages. Kun watches him do so, Dejun standing at his elbow. His hands are sweating and his back hurts from how tense he’s holding it. They made it past the laboratory technician so it should be fine. No worries. But he can’t help the way his blood pressure spikes as Min slows down on the last page.

He squints, lifts the page to look closer and then snorts. He closes the folder and hands it over. 

“Spelled your name wrong on the last page, Hao,” Min tells him and Kun rolls his eyes as he takes it back, handing the folder over to Dejun. “You need better admins over there at shore side.” 

“Need a better job,” Kun mutters and Min laughs softly. “We good here?” 

“You’re good here. Thanks for taking her off our hands,” Min tells him and Kun smirks as Sicheng comes over to meet them after shaking hands with Kim. “She’s kept the labs at a standstill for over a week now. Now she’s your problem.” 

“We’ll take good care of her,” Kun promises. 

The walk back out of the labs is a slow one, the urge to run sharp in their heads but they don’t. They take their leave slowly, assuredly and Kun nods to the guard, who nods back, as he leaves. Sicheng and Dejun are still ahead of him as they head for the cars and when they get there Kun bangs on the side of the truck twice before getting the passenger seat. Jungwoo jumps, dropping his phone in the cup holder as Kun buckles in. 

“Let’s get the fuck outta here,” Kun hisses and Jungwoo nods, putting the box truck in drive. 

They pause only once more for the gates to open, letting them through, and once they clear them Kun lets out the deepest breath he ever has. 

They survived the lion’s den.

By the time they take the tanker to S.V.T. Labs it’s well past dark, and just as well. The last thing they need is someone from BigHit recognizing the box truck that took their precious tanker and was never seen again. Jungwoo drives it over with Jaehyun, Johnny and Kun waiting in the back. Not a far drive, mind you, considering their labs live within approximately the same district as their own. The warehouse district is sprawling and full of lots of unused lots so once Jungwoo has managed to navigate to the very back of it he honks his horn, loud enough to be heard a few streets over, from the gates. 

Their gates are a little more than chain link fences but they do a good enough job with their barbed wire along the top keeping hooligans out. A few men head out to see who the hell is honking at their gates at a time well past dark, only for their eyes to nearly bug out when they see a box truck and Jungwoo waving a white handkerchief out the driver’s side window. One of them nearly runs for the box on the side of the building, the gates slowly opening for them and allowing Jungwoo inside. 

“Where am I parking this thing?!” Jungwoo shouts and Seungkwan laughs a delighted sound as he takes it in. 

“The loading docks are around the back,” Vernon tells him, waving a hand to the right outside corner of the building. “We’ll meet you there.” 

It’s not a very big lab and it doesn’t take long for Jungwoo to get there. He’s barely parked and gotten out when he hears it, the sound of the bay doors opening. On his way to the back, he knocks twice on the main hull of the truck, letting them know they’ve arrived. He left a bit of distance between the dock door and the back of the truck, allowing him to climb up into the bay, with help from a hand from Wonwoo. The drop down door slides up and Johnny waves a hand from where he’s leaning on the steady side of the full tanker, a grin on his face. 

“Get Cheol,” Vernon says, waving a hand at Mingyu, who books it out of the bay. 

Unlike BigHit, with their big, ostentatious building, the S.V.T. Labs is a small little thing. It’s a couple of old warehouses connected by some walkways and owning a large bay, but it’s not much to look at. All the same, they make a good living with all their knowledge in beastie technology. Most of them were pilots or laboratory technicians that eventually left their companies for one reason or another. Now they’re a for-hire lab that makes beasties for wanna-be pilots. For the right price. 

The place has seen better days and now more than ever is that evident. When Vernon and Wonwoo slide a wooden ramp to cross the gap between the bay door and box truck Johnny steps over to survey the lab. Their second bay door is dented and the windows above them are smashed, plywood paneling nailed into place for the time being. Most of the warehouse isn’t much to see to begin with, generally all sheet metal and poor insulation, but they make due. Clearly BigHit didn’t feel too bad about busting down their workshop when they stole their tanker.

“Holy fucking shit,” Seungcheol says, coming into the room, but he’s grinning as he says it. He offers a hand to Johnny, tugging him into a hug. Johnny laughs gently before pulling away, Seungcheol shaking his head. “I knew you worked fucking fast but half a week, Suh. Holy fuck, I cannot believe you did this.” 

“You needed it back. I figured sooner was better than later,” Johnny says. “Now where do you want it?” 

Most of S.V.T.’s core staff is in the building right now, probably having been sleeping here since the break-in that busted up Joshua’s poor face. Mingyu gives Johnny and Jaehyun a hand with lifting the tanker, carrying the heavy metal cylinder across the floor and over the grates Jihoon told them to put it on top of. They don’t tilt it nearly as much but the awkward way of holding it makes it difficult to carry. Johnny is thankful when they put it down and even more so when they don’t smash his fingers in the process. 

“Holy fuck, that shit’s heavy,” Jaehyun huffs.

“Yeah, they’re a little heavier than normal, unfortunately,” Junhui comments. When he approaches the side of the tanker he catalogs the outside of it, much the same way Johnny did when he first saw it. “No damage,” he sighs and there seems to be a collective sigh that flows through the room. “You guys have no idea what you’ve just done for us,” He says and Johnny shrugs a shoulder. 

“Just doing you guys a favor. We will be taking our pay and going, if you don’t mind,” Kun states from where he lingers near the box truck. 

“Hey, I made a deal,” Seungcheol says, stepping towards Johnny. “I said to you that if you bring me the tanker I’ll tell you what’s inside.” Johnny’s brows shoot up in surprise. “I think I owe you that much. You want to know what you risked your lives for I’ll show you. I think it’s the least I can do.” 

“You sure that’s a good idea?” Johnny asks. 

“Fair is fair.” 

Johnny looks at his men, who shrug their shoulders. It doesn’t really matter, some random beastie technology isn’t going to change their lives any but there is that nagging curiosity in Johnny’s mind. When he looks at the metal canister with a keypad and three large latches he can’t help but wonder what’s inside. He’s seen beastie tech for a long time, having worked in beastie manufacturing for a good period of his work experience, but Seungcheol really thinks this is state of the art. This is something that he insists has never been done before and maybe that’s true, especially if BigHit of all people were willing to steal it. 

“Okay,” Johnny agrees. “Open it.” 

Junhui knows the keycode to the tanker, all 12 digits memorized. They’ve never written it down, he says, as he types it all in. Just as well, no way anyone can ever give it away if it’s not anywhere but their heads. He types it in easily and then pulls on the latches. The tank is pressurized and the first latch, the one on the bottom, goes with a pop. Fluid spills out through the bottom of the door and through the grates, probably the reason they had them put it there. He doesn’t even flinch as it spills over his feet, more and more coming out as he undoes the second latch. He pauses before the last one. 

“Minghao, you ready?” Junhui asks, glancing over his shoulder. The younger technician is already there and he’s got what looks like towels in his arms. It’s a mammalian beastie, Johnny thinks, but for some reason his heartbeat is racing. He doesn’t know why, it just is, waiting to see what Junhui is going to reveal. 

When the door opens Minghao rushes forward while Junhui falls to the ground under the weight of the beastie falling forward. Johnny tips his chin up to see around Junhui and Minghao but it’s hard, the way they’re crowded around. All Johnny can see is white, a kind of unnatural paleness that reminds Johnny of albino creatures. But when Junhui and Minghao move two things become apparent. 

One, there was not just one beastie in that tanker, but two.

And two, what was in the tanker wasn’t much of a beastie at all. 

“Interesting choice, Seungcheol,” Jaehyun speaks as he takes in the forms wrapped in black towels and cradled against Junhui’s and Minghao’s chests, “keeping humans in canisters.” 

After the initial shock wears off Kun and Johnny both turn to Seungcheol with matching looks of concern and confusion. Seungcheol nods to the hallway, where Jihoon goes with them. The two humans, what look like humans despite their pale complexions and equally white hair, are left with the technicians and staff, who take to looking after them immediately. The doors remain propped open and they leave Jaehyun and Jungwoo, who take to the other technicians standing around to ask them their questions. Johnny leans against the wall while Kun crosses his arms over his chest. Seungcheol tilts his head and looks at them expectantly while Jihoon looks on, expression unreadable. 

“They’re not really human, are they?” Johnny asks after a prolonged pause. 

“No, they’re not,” Seungcheol admits. “Not technically. But they are two of our most successful attempts at human likeness.” 

“You guys really used beastie technology to create humans,” Kun says, slowly. “Why?” 

“Beastie technology can do a lot of incredible things,” Jihoon states. “Bigger corporations look at their ability to create life using inorganic material and stem cell research to make things that can kill each other. All these decades of science and it’s wasted on entertainment. Beastie technology—genetic synthesis—can be used to make so much more than just things to fight with. It could save lives.” 

“They’re an experiment, I can’t mince words about that,” Seungcheol admits and Johnny cuts him a sharp glare. “Here me out,” he says, gently. “They are not the first ones we’ve tried to make and we had to scrap the others for their genetic material but they are human. They live and breathe and act just like us. And what’s more, they are built entirely from inorganic material, they were made in a lab. You see why we did this, don’t you?” Seungcheol asks. 

“This opens new doors in science, in health science,” Kun states, voice low and monotone. “If you can grow a person you can regrow tissues, a limb, an organ.” Jihoon nods. “This is stuff science is too afraid to try, too morally and ethically gray. But you did it. For… what?” Kun asks, a crease in his brow. “Why?” 

“We had to know,” Jihoon admits. “And what’s more, their cellular regeneration is off the charts. We’ve seen it first hand, the way a cut will mend itself in minutes. They’re so much more than just beastie technology. They’re people and this could do so much in the fight against beastie battles.” 

“That’s the play?” Johnny asks, surprised. “You want to end beastie battles?” 

“They’re dangerous and they’re stupid,” Seungcheol spits. “I’m tired of being complacent in something like them. They are the key to changing everything,” he says, turning to look at them. All their gazes follow his to the pale humans that remain on the floor, weak and wrapped in towels. “But we can’t let someone like BigHit have them. If BigHit had been able to open the tanker I can only see two possible outcomes and they’re both terrible.” 

“They either use their genetic makeup to make more beasties, effectively tearing them apart,” Kun sighs, lowering his head, “or they take credit for the synthesis of humans using this technology and they profit. No matter what you lose,” he states and Seungcheol nods. “But what happens if someone sees them under you and it goes poorly. That’s one thing BigHit has that you don’t, the ability to fight back against anyone who opposes them. You’re either going to be heroes or monsters. And there’s no inbetween.” 

“That’s why we want to share this information with a health sciences corporation. They’re the only ones we think might be able to listen to us about this,” Jihoon sighs, still looking over at them. “But the fear of them killing them—” 

“Yeah,” Johnny mutters, eyes daring away. “It doesn’t matter that their brains work and their hearts beat. According to current law they’re not technically living if they’re not made organically,” Johnny cites and Seungcheol nods. “So what are you going to do in the meantime?” 

“Keep a closer eye on them,” Seungcheol says. “The tanker was for genetic synthesis, we were using it just in case but maybe just letting them live their lives would be safer,” he considers aloud. His and Jihoon’s gazes never left them but when Kun and Johnny look again they still can’t quite believe what they’re looking at. 

You could say they have a human likeness but it’s just not true. They are human, from the soles of their feet to the top of their heads, they’re human. Nothing about them looks out of place, they’re perfectly formed like they were born into this world like anyone else. There are things about them that make them look slightly out of the norm, the extreme paleness of their skin, the lightness of their hair but overall, they look just the same. It’s an incredible feat, the fact that a lab like S.V.T. has managed to create humans from nothing more than genetic synthesis. 

“Do they have names?” Johnny asks and Seungcheol turns to him with a smile. 

“They do.” 

They look extremely similar all around, from the shade of their hair to their build but one of them is taller, has double lids and his hair is a bit longer. Seungcheol introduces him as Jeonghan. The other, with monolids, shorter hair and is shorter, he’s introduced as Taeyong. One thing is definitely certain, Johnny considers as he looks at them, they are both very handsome. However it was that they synthesized them they managed to make a couple of humans that are handsome beyond belief, that is for sure. 

They’re too weak to speak though Junhui insists they can. Their skin is so deathly pale Johnny wonders briefly if, in all the work they’ve put into them, there are still things they missed in their creation. It’s possible, Seungcheol said this is the closest they’ve gotten to human and their eyes are still dazed, hazy from their time in the tanker. Chances are they’re barely conscious after all the time they just spend in the sedation fluid anyway so Johnny doesn’t intend to stick around and try to carry conversation. As it is they have to get out of here and dump the truck before sunrise. 

“I don’t suppose you have our payment lying around?” Johnny asks after a series of moments just taking in what S.V.T. Labs has created. Seungcheol waves him back to the hallway and Johnny rests a hand on Kun’s shoulder briefly before going. Both of them are thinking deeply about what they’re learning in this laboratory but Johnny uses it to warn him he’s walking away for a moment. Kun doesn’t move but his head inclines the slightest bit. 

Seungcheol leads him through a maze of hallways and plastic curtains that section off parts of the lab. Everything from the docks to the offices are cast in an eerie fluorescent lighting that reflects off the plastic curtaining a sickly yellow. Johnny knows this building decently, he’s been here for more than just a passing favor before so it doesn’t unsettle him as much as it might anyone else. Only half the lights are on through, casting long shadows over the sheet metal, heavy metal shelving and through plexiglass windows.

It’s up a set of stairs and down a long hallway, concrete floor making their steps echo ominously. Seungcheol lets him into an office, flicking on the light in the room. It bathes everything in a low dim from the incandescent light bulb above and Seungcheol crosses the small office to get behind his desk. From a drawer he procures an envelope that he hands over to Johnny. 

“Don’t lose that, that’s half my labs’ worth right there,” he advises. The thin, long manila envelope doesn’t look like much but Johnny tucks it into the inside of his jacket for safe keeping. He leans against his desk, arms crossed over his chest and Johnny meets his eyes. “You have more questions, don’t you?” 

“I don’t know where to begin,” Johnny confesses and Seungcheol nods, eyes falling to the floor. “Cheol, I don’t feel bad about doing this, especially now, knowing what was in the tanker. But this is big, bigger than anything you’ve done, bigger than anything anyone has done. If someone finds out-” 

“That’s why I needed the tanker back,” Seungcheol says slowly, not lifting his head. “Until we can figure out how we’re going to go public with this research no one can know what S.V.T. synthesized in that tanker. We know the risks,” he tells him, lifting his head to meet Johnny’s gaze. “But John, these fucking battles are getting out of control.” Johnny swallows, averting his eyes. “Every week we get new kids and every other week we get new offers from bigger companies to buy our lab just so they can make beasties at an even higher rate. This is decades, centuries of science being treated like garbage. We’re out here playing God, creating something from nothing, only to kill it in a fight for entertainment. It’s a waste of time and resources that could be saving lives.” 

“And I’m not saying you’re wrong,” Johnny responds, Seungcheol shifting awkwardly against his desk. “But this is bigger than that. Creating people, creatures with reasoning and understanding, bringing life into this world in such an arbitrary way. People will see you as a monster. A real life Frankenstein,” Johnny states and Seungcheol nods. “The morality of this will be called into question, the ethics of what you’re doing. I know you have good intentions.” 

Johnny steps forward as he says this, resting his hands on Seungcheol’s shoulders. Seungcheol meets his gaze hesitantly. 

“I know you, Cheol,” Johnny says, voice soft. “But not everyone does. This could put you in way more than just jail and it could hurt everyone, including Jeonghan and Taeyong.” Seungcheol swallows, nodding as he looks at the floor. “Please, please be careful. I’m begging you.” 

“I will,” he promises.

When they do leave dread still builds in the pit of Johnny’s stomach. He knows what’s out there now and his eyes linger on the towel wrapped forms longer than he’d care to admit, their hair falling in their dark brown eyes, glossy and confused. They might have no idea what they were created for and worse than that, they were born into this world as fugitives, unethical monsters that would be killed the second someone knew of their origins. The money in Johnny’s pocket feels like too much and yet not enough now that he’s been given this information. 

Johnny and Kun leave Jaehyun and Jungwoo to destroy the truck, going back to the warehouse to tie up loose ends, shredding paperwork and fake IDs. It’s a slow but necessary process and when they get to the situation room, folders of information stacked together on the corner of the table Johnny tosses the manila envelope down on the table for Kun to see. 

“That’s the payment,” Johnny says, voice soft. He doesn’t look at Kun as he walks over to the glass wall, taking a deep breath. Kun picks it up with careful fingers, untucking the closed envelope to see the check inside. 

Seungcheol and Jihoon’s signatures are on the check for 700k. They made good on their promise, but Kun sets the check down, stomach turning over. The money doesn’t matter now, not at the expense of the information they have now. His hands rest flat on the table, shoulders tight as he thinks over what they’ve done. 

There are no regrets, taking them back from BigHit. None at all. If anything they’re all the more thankful they have, giving those two a chance at a life, at some sense of normalcy after the circumstances of their birth but it replays in Kun’s head, again and again. The way they fell from the tanker, weak and glossy eyed, only barely conscious. The same size as himself but so much weaker, confused. They’re vulnerable right now— possibly always will be— and the fact that should anyone discover the truth of them they’ll practically be destroyed on sight. Well, it makes Kun’s stomach turn. 

“I’m gonna head home,” Kun says and Johnny nods but doesn’t reply. “Try not to be here too late, alright? Jaehyun and Jungwoo said they’ll just be going back home after they’re done anyway,” he advises. Johnny nods mutely once more and Kun looks over his shoulder at his partner. It’s not often he sees Johnny so still, so stoic, and he walks over to him, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder. Johnny starts a little bit and Kun rubs his thumb gently over the curve of his shoulder. “You okay?” 

“I will be,” Johnny replies. “Thank you, Kun. For doing this with me.” 

“Of course,” Kun tells him. He pats Johnny once on the shoulder before taking his leave. It’s probably well past midnight now, pitch blackness surrounding the warehouse, the district and the whole of Seoul. Johnny has a feeling BigHit is going to be combing the city come tomorrow morning looking for their missing tanker but, and Johnny has no doubts about this, it’s going to be long since destroyed. For right now, however, everything is still and the door shuts heavily behind Kun, the alarm beeping softly to warn Johnny that it’s armed. 

He goes about getting rid of the documents with only half of his brain online, still thinking about the laboratory. It’s easy rote work, something he’s done only about a thousand times before, shredding and cutting and burning everything that might possibly lead back to them, destroying emails and getting rid of old hard drives. It’s easy enough to keep his hands busy while his head refuses to quiet down. 

Just the same as with every job they do Johnny puts the check into the company account and pays it out to his squad. Neo Culture Technology Corp. is just a front but it does make their lives a lot easier to insist to people that they are a functioning company and even more so when it comes to payments, both personnel and for taxes. They pay more than they’d like to continue the front but it’s better than being caught in broad daylight with their pants around their ankles. They make due. So long as they pay what’s asked of them no one’s looking through their dirty laundry. 

As with the steady march of time, it continues forward and Johnny wills the information that lives within his head to go dormant. It’s useless, really, because he’s pretty sure as long as he lives he’s never going to forget about them, but he does his damndest. He does his work around the warehouse, he goes home, he has a drink and eats dinner, he goes to bed, he gets up and it starts again. His life is cyclical, just the way he likes it and he’s actually kind of thankful nothing seems to be hitting the fan around him in the wake of his deal with Seungcheol. 

At least, for the time being. 

It doesn’t go unnoticed by Johnny that there is a steady increase of thugs in the streets, walking around, getting mouthy with people they ought not to get mouthy with. Johnny’s been through his fair share of questioning by a handful of boys that should’ve known better but something tells him that they’re getting paid to ask questions. Not enough if the way Johnny laid out one of the boys says anything. They’re all for-hire street scoundrels that make money running information and underground medical supplies with less than reputable labs that make miniatures for street fights. It’s not Johnny’s business what they’re doing but he has a feeling BigHit is willing to give a bit of cash to anyone who thinks they can find their missing tanker. 

It’s inconvenient, sure, and Johnny and Kun even reach out to ask Seungcheol if he needs a bit of help with security measures but apparently the beef up on their security measures, a.k.a stationing Jihoon, Wonwoo and Chan’s baseball bat on patrols, has been enough to deter most of these street rats from getting in their business. Just as well since most of them probably also know that where trouble with S.V.T. is started N.C.T. generally isn’t that far behind. 

It’s not professional. It’s personal and Johnny can admit to that. 

Overall, though, they aren’t worried about petty criminals being a nuisance. They have more important things to worry about and a man from the other side of the city who’s looking for high grade medical supplies is trying to get in touch. Child’s play in their neck of the woods but it is very lucrative. There’s always a new job to be done and a new seller to buy from. The city is just as smog filled and coated in a thin sheen of neon as it always is. They’re hopeful BigHit will get the hint sooner or later that no one is going to be talking to them about a tanker they stole in the first place. 

There’s no warning when it becomes apparent that that’s not true. 

It comes in the form of a loud ruckus on the far side of the warehouse district. Kun is in but Johnny’s not, running point on the medical supplies job. He, Yuta, Renjun and Jungwoo are in the warehouse when they hear it, the sound of sirens and banging on sheet metal. No gunshots though so Kun doesn’t think much of it. Probably another raid of an empty warehouse where squatters frequent, it’s been a favorite thing of the police to do since crime turned much more organized and difficult to pin down in this city. It’s an easy way to get a handful of arrests. Kun knows those cops are willing to do almost anything to get them these days. 

The shouting is loud, however, distracting, which is why Kun gets up to investigate why there’s so much of it. Usually squatters know why they’re being dragged away. He stops dead where he looks out the big windows along the back of the warehouse. 

The police are brutal, they’re ruthless in this fucked up cyber state they live in and Kun can see a number of people on the ground in the broken open gates of the S.V.T. Labs complex. He can’t make them all out but there are at least three or four of them and there are two men being led out of the complex in handcuffs. They don’t fight, they don’t shout, even though the others are. They’re placed in the cars amidst the yelling, the doors shutting sharply while police fend off the employees that are fighting them. Kun’s stomach is in his throat as he watches the cop cars turn sharply and drive out of the busted open gates of the S.V.T. complex. 

He’s out of the warehouse before he’s properly processed what he’s doing, Yuta and Renjun hot on his heels. He hears the door to the warehouse slamming shut behind him as he runs over to the S.V.T. complex with his shoes barely on and no jacket. The cool temperature is biting against his bare arms and face as he runs over there, letting himself through the open fencing of the laboratory, taking stock of the scene in front of him. 

The police that remain don’t seem to be paying the men of the laboratory any mind, gathering around the few cars that loiter in the parking lot. There are members of the lab on the ground, nursing wounds, while the others kneel beside them, looking them over. Minghao is among the ones checking their wounds, helping the others to their feet, the youngest member of their core staff, Chan, in his arms. Kun rushes to help. 

He can hear his other squad members, their running feet as they show up as well, soft gasps as they take in the scene. Feet against the pavement, his blood rushing in his ears, he goes to Minghao, reaching out to take Chan’s other arm. Minghao meets his eyes but doesn’t say anything, directing Kun to help him bring Chan into the labs. It’s a fair few meters back to the doors but they manage it alright. 

“Kun,” Soonyoung says in surprise when Kun sidles his way into the building with Minghao and Chan. “Over here, bring him over here,” he directs. Between the two of them they get Chan on the cot Soonyoung had available and when Kun looks over he sees Yuta carrying Joshua on his own, lying the man down on a cot of his own. His bruises are healing but he clutches his side like he took something right in the ribs, and he probably has. In normal circumstances Kun might actually find the way Renjun and Seungkwan are helping a limping Wonwoo humorous but now’s not really the time. The others take up the rear with Mingyu and Vernon walking Seokmin in the building. Sooyoung runs to shut the door and Kun surveys who’s missing. 

“They took Seungcheol and Jihoon,” he states and Soonyoung’s eyes drop to the floor. “Fuck,” he curses softly. “Where are they?” 

“Junhui took them to the basement as soon as we heard the police at the gates,” Minghao answers from where he’s bent over Chan, checking his head for the goose egg that’s rising along the side of his head, bruises blossoming along his cheek. He and the others are sure to be nursing a myriad of bruises when they’re finished getting checked over and it makes Kun’s blood boil in his chest. “They’re safe down there,” Minghao assures him but Kun is still worried. 

“Should we check on them?” Kun asks and Minghao nods, getting to his feet. He leaves Chan in the capable hands of Soonyoung, waving Kun towards the main hall. 

It isn’t until they’re walking through the complex that Kun notices it but when he does he doesn’t know how he missed it before. Other than the core staff of S.V.T., which now seems to only consist of ten people, there’s no one else on the property. The police raided a skeleton crew and beat the hell out of four of them to take the owners. It’s ruthless but also Kun can’t help but look around walls, through windows and plastic sheeting, wondering where the hell the rest of their staff is. 

“Jihoon hyung fired them,” Minghao says, voice empty. Kun turns his head to look at him where he’s walking next to the lab technician. “They never found the mole in the labs and, rather than possibly have another break in, they cut ties with everyone else. Our staff has never been very big and when Jihoon laid off the others it was under the premise of budget cuts, which isn’t technically a lie after the payment Seungcheol hyung paid you guys to get the tanker back.” 

Kun swallows, averting his eyes to the floor. Minghao stops at a large metal door in the farthest back corner of the warehouse. Without the keypad one might think it led to a janitor’s closet, tucked so far into the complex, but it’s apparent to Kun that it’s not. He looks at Kun for a series of moments and offers a sad smile. 

“Don’t feel bad,” he tells him. “You did us a huge favor that day and most of the employees took it really well. Working in a laboratory like ours isn’t exactly what you’d call a certain future, most of them knew it. I really don’t think any of them would’ve gone to the police. Unless it was the mole. Which will be useful to us in the future.” 

“I hope you’re right,” Kun replies. Minghao turns to the door then, inputting the code to let them into the basement. 

The basement lights are on, and Minghao leads them down the metal stairway into the spacious, cement basement of the warehouse. The lights aren’t unnaturally bright but it catches Kun off guard as they have to be the most decent lighting in the entire building. When they get down there Minghao walks between the metal shelving units, the oversized industrial coolers, the misplaced machinery to take Kun to a door in the back. It also has a keypad and Kun lifts a brow as Minghao knocks three times, twice quickly and a pause before the last one, before entering the keycode. He props the door open for Kun, nodding to the inside of the room. 

Kun pauses just inside the door, taking in the room. It’s fully furnished like a small, studio apartment, with two beds, a kitchenette, a living space and an additional door that Kun can only assume is the bathroom. On one of the beds is Junhui, who’s got his arms around Taeyong. Jeonghan is curled up in the other bed, blanket pulled up around his shoulders and knees to his chest. Both of them look wary but Junhui relaxes a bit upon seeing Kun standing in the doorway. Minghao closes the door behind them and crosses the room to Jeonghan. 

“How bad is it?” Junhui asks and Minghao’s eyes fall to the ground as he takes Jeonghan’s outstretched hands, like a child looking for comfort. When Kun considers the two of them he thinks that’s accurate. Even if they have built them from their own knowledge, the social and mental development of a man Kun’s age, they’re not very old. They reach out for comfort because they seek it, not having much else to hold onto in this world. These men are the safest things they know. 

“They took Seungcheol and Jihoon,” Minghao says and Jeonghan frowns, eyes rounding in fear. “I don’t think it’s going to be long before they start raiding the place for evidence. We’ll have to leave.” 

“Leave… where?” Taeyong asks. His voice is small but beautiful, elegant and Kun swallows, shuffling his feet a little bit. 

“You’ll stay with one of us until we can get everything squared away here,” Junhui tells him. “We’ll have to pack your things. It’s the only thing we can do.” He turns to Kun then. “When did you get here?” He asks. 

“Just as they were taking them away,” Kun replies. “I saw the squad car drive off as I ran up. The others are in pretty bad shape.” He turns his attention to the room, the large underground apartment that they’ll have to do something about just in case. “You know you’re gonna have to clear out quickly, right? And do something about this room.” 

“Yeah,” Junhui mumbles. “I’ll have Wonwoo and Seungkwan take care of it, they’ll know the easiest way to go about it. Nothing left behind,” he sighs.

“I can offer some of my men, when they get back,” Kun says and Junhui’s brows lift in surprise. “It’s the least we can do and we’re well versed in destroying evidence. Nothing will be left.” The words are hard to get out because clearly this room wasn’t cheap to build and it might be the only life these two have ever seen. Even so, letting it stand will only exist to cause even more problems for the labs and destroying it will be their only option if they want to hide what’s been going on in here. He and Johnny can work on a sob story about temporary living arrangements, a break room or something for the staff that stay overnight, a kitchen fire that turned it all to smoke. It’s going to be hard anyway. 

“Thank you,” Minghao says. “Do you mind giving us a hand?” Kun turns to view him. “There’s a lot in here that needs packing up.”

“Not at all.” 

The duffles they remove from under the beds are already half full of clothing, miniature toiletries and emergency items. It doesn’t surprise Kun that they had go-bags already prepped for these two, just in case something like this might happen. They have more time than they might otherwise and Jeonghan and Taeyong, for all their fear, seem to understand what’s going on. They may be young but they are not stupid and they move with a kind of precision that tells Kun they were warned of this possible future. Kun hasn’t the slightest as to how long they’ve been alive but it’s very apparent that this is something they’ve known might happen to them for a long time. 

There is an immeasurable and indescribable sadness in that realization. 

The bags are packed and ready to go in only ten minutes and when they head back up they walk the entire way back in silence. Kun notes that Junhui keeps the door to the room propped open. It won’t matter if they lock it now, it’s useless when they’ll have to go in to destroy it shortly. 

When they reach the main hall of the lab half of his squad is waiting for them, including Johnny. Jungwoo probably informed them when they showed up and Kun’s not the least bit surprised that Johnny is waiting for him, still in the outfit he left to do the run on, eyes taking in everything around them. Kun can see the way Jeonghan and Taeyong both move to hide further behind Junhui and Minghao the minute they take in Johnny’s stance, the strong square of his shoulders, the height of him and the deep frown on his face. 

Johnny might not be much more than a teddy bear towards the people he cares about but he cuts an imposing picture when you don’t know him. Kun imagines that Jeonghan and Taeyong barely remember him at all from when they brought them back here. 

“Kun, let’s head to the station,” Johnny says and Kun nods once. “Yuta, Jaehyun, Jungwoo, I want you three to stay here. Help them with whatever they need to get the fuck outta here before the cops decide to close this place off.” There’s a low murmur of agreement from them. “Renjun, you as well. They could use your medical know-how given the state of some of these guys.” 

“It’s really not that bad,” Wonwoo insists, trying to sit up from his place on the cot but Seungkwan just as easily shoves him back down into a lying position, a low groan slipping from his lips. 

“Sure, it’s not,” Johnny replies, tone just a little bit mocking, “but let’s be better safe than sorry, okay? You guys stay here and clean up what you can, use the guys as much as you need.” This statement is directed at Sooyoung, who nods solemnly. Johnny rests a gentle hand on his shoulder, squeezing once. “We’re gonna go see what they have in store for Seungcheol and Jihoon and report back as soon as we can. In the meantime our warehouse isn’t far if you need it.” 

“Thanks, hyung,” Soonyoung says. “We appreciate it.” 

“Let’s go,” Kun tells him, headed for the door. Jaehyun tosses a jacket at him, a spare that he probably grabbed on his way out, and he and Johnny head out the door into the cool evening. 

The sun hasn’t fully set but it’s hard to make out much of anything through the smog, the sky above them painted a sickly shade of orange-purple, muted like poorly colored corrected footage. Their feet stomp through the distinct, their steps faster than normal as they rush towards the cable cars. It’s the fastest way to get anywhere in this damn city and they make quick work of scanning their passes, sitting close to the front rather than their usual back seats. 

The cable car runs right past the nearest police station and the two of them jump out the minute they get close enough. It’s almost swamped with cops, cars piled on the street that they have to weave through to get to the front desk just to ask about Seungcheol and Jihoon. 

The police are, unsurprisingly, condescending and Johnny has to yank Kun back from getting up in one’s face. When they do eventually let them through the precinct they’re escorted by three of them down to the basement holding cells. It’s bleak down here, dimly lit and they stand by the doors while Kun and Johnny walk down to meet with Seungcheol and Jihoon. Kun notes the cameras in place along the walls and in the cells as they get closer. Jihoon notices them first. 

“Thought we might be seeing you,” he says, walking up to the bars. His hands slid through the bars, forearms resting on the crossbars. “Not the place we were hoping to meet up again but here we are.” 

“What the hell happened, Jihoon?” Kun asks, fingers curling the bars. Jihoon only shrugs a shoulder while Seungcheol gets up to lean his shoulder against the bars next to his co-owner. 

“Someone said something to the police, something good enough to get our asses in here. They said they’re charging us with ‘unethical uses of genetic synthesis.’” Johnny shakes his head while Jihoon merely tilts his head a bit, his expression not the least bit concerned. “I imagine it was whoever was leaking the info over to BigHit, y’know? The guys tell you about the changes I made in employment?” 

“Didn’t need to, I saw it,” Kun tells him. “You had to know whoever was leaking that info was gonna run the minute they got the chance.” 

“We expected it,” Seungcheol admits, arms crossed and nodding his head. “But they won’t find anything. Anything related to the project is gone. Shredded, burned and we even handed the hard drives with that info over to Vernon and Wonwoo to take care of. Smashed to pieces. Nothing’s left of the synthesis so whatever they think they have it’s circumstantial at best. Hearsay.” 

“Good enough to get in here,” Kun points out. 

“But not keep us,” Jihoon replies. “We’re gonna be in here for a while, don’t get me wrong, but they can’t pin anything. Worst case they take some witness statements, call us mad scientists, and maybe shut down the lab.” Johnny scoffs, shaking his head. “There are worse things than that. You know that, hyung,” Jihoon points out but Johnny doesn’t look convinced. “If they close us down they close us down. It’s better than the alternative.” 

“What do you think the best case is, you’re off scott free?” Kun asks. “That’s not gonna happen. BigHit is putting a target on your backs. They must think you stole the tanker back, they won’t rest until they put you under.” 

“Close the labs, I don’t care,” Seungcheol retorts and Kun’s head whips to look at him. “Fuck it. As long as they’re safe that’s all that matters. I don’t give a fuck what BigHit does to the labs, things can be redone, resynthesized, but not them. Which is why I’m going to ask you a favor, and it’s pretty fucking big.” 

“You haven’t asked enough favors, Seungcheol?” Johnny says, stepping up to the bars where Seungcheol is leaning. His fingers wrap the bars and he leans in while Seungcheol turns to look at him. “I haven’t done enough for you?” 

“This isn’t for me,” he says, looking at Johnny head on. His hands slide through the bars, forearms resting on the cross bars and he meets Johnny’s eyes steadily. “This is for them. They’re vulnerable out here, in danger. No one is ever going to know unless someone says something but I don’t know how far this information is getting so you gotta do something for me, for them. Please, you’re the only other people I trust.” 

“What do you want?” 

“I need you to keep them safe,” Seungcheol says. “If possible, keep them at the warehouse. No one will look for them there.” Johnny sighs, stepping away from the bars to shake his head. Kun watches Johnny hunch into himself, hands on his hips while Jihoon keeps his eyes trained on Johnny as well. “Johnny. Do this for me.” 

“I know our history runs deep but this is fucking out of control, Seungcheol,” Johnny says, stepping back up to the bars. “I do things for you all the time. I’ve done things for you and for Joshua that I would never have done for anyone else and you’re still asking?” He asks. If he was close enough he’d have Seungcheol by the shirt but the bars will have to be enough, the bars next to Seungcheol’s face, where he meets Johnny’s eyes with a steely gaze. “When does it end?” 

“When I get out of here,” He says. “If you do this for me, I’m done asking for favors. I swear.” Johnny’s lips turn in a disbelieving smile. “I mean it, John. You never have to take another favor from me again if you don’t want. This is it. Just do this one last thing and I’ll stop asking.” 

“You won’t—”

“I swear on my life, Suh,” he insists and Johnny’s brows lift. “I fucking swear. I’ll never ask again. Please.” 

“Where are they going?” 

“Joshua’s. Thank you.” 

“Never again, Cheol. This is it.” 

“I promise. Thank you, John.”

The smell of smoke is thick in the air when they return to the warehouse, gas and electrical, but there’s not a soul left in the S.V.T. complex. Johnny looks over at the vacant building for a long time, knowing that come tomorrow morning there’s going to be police cars and forensics trucks in the parking lot. Everyone from his crew is inside the warehouse, going about their business as though it’s just another day. And in some ways, it is. 

Destroy evidence. Confirm a story for outlandish happenings. Solidify alibis. Take care of the paperwork. Go about your day. Johnny doesn’t linger outside, he walks into the building with Kun and rests a careful hand on Yuta’s shoulder before heading up the stairs. Yuta watches the two of them with a frown, worry festering in the pit of his stomach. 

“Let’s spend the next day taking care of things around here. There’s that storage room in the back that we aren’t using. It’s big enough to turn into a guest room,” Kun states as soon as he’s got the door shut to the situation room. 

“Say it,” Johnny says and Kun stops short, where he’s standing by the door. Johnny’s got his hands on his hips, staring at Kun with eyes that could drill through concrete. It’s unsettling, the way he’s holding himself strung tight like an instrument, a tightly tuned violin ready to snap the moment someone places their bow upon him. Everything that’s been going on lately Kun doesn’t know that he’s ever seen Johnny like this. They’ve been through their fair share of moments where they thought the world was caving in around them but the tightness in Johnny’s shoulders, his spine, the clench of his jaw, it worries Kun. 

At the center of everything, Johnny is also his friend and Kun approaches him as he would a spooked animal. 

“Say what?” Kun asks, voice softening as he walks forward. 

“That I’m a fool. That I’m wasting our time and resources for Seungcheol, like I always am!” He complains, throwing his hands. “It never fucking ends. I spend all my time making exceptions for him and doing his favors that I never should and you should be pissed.” Kun frowns, stopped a few feet away from Johnny. “You should be fucking furious with me to just let them keep them here. It’s putting all of us in danger, not just me. And don’t I do that enough?” 

“Johnny, I spend a lot of time hating the exceptions you make for Seungcheol and any other day I would love to call you an idiot over it, trust me,” he says, a breathless half laugh tacked on the end. Johnny shakes his head and Kun’s eyes fall to the floor as his attempt to joke falls flat. “Listen, this is dangerous, I see that. I know that. But this is bigger than either of us and it’s one thing to make stupid exceptions based on our skill level and an entirely different one when you’re trying to help Seungcheol save some lives.” Johnny turns and looks out the window, letting his head hang. 

Kun isn’t very good at comforting Johnny; he never has been. It’s one reason on top of so many why they never really were able to find a good equilibrium until they decided to be company partners and fellow squad leaders. Even so when he crosses the room he slides his arms around Johnny’s middle and presses his forehead to the space between Johnny’s shoulder blades. A half laugh escapes Johnny and he loosens a bit, hands resting where Kun’s are on his stomach. 

“You’re an idiot,” Kun tells him. “I hate that you make exceptions for Seungcheol because of your past. I hate that he takes advantage of it and you never do anything about it. I hate that Joshua doesn’t stop him. I hate a lot of things that cause us to work so closely with S.V.T. But I know that in the end, everything Seungcheol does is because he really thinks he’s doing what’s best and you believe it and you trust him and I’ve long since accepted that,” Kun explains, slow and deliberate, enunciating every statement into Johnny’s back. “But that doesn’t matter right now. Because the past is the past and we’re in a position to actually do some good. To really do something worth doing and I don’t care that it puts us all in danger because saving two lives is more important than going to jail.” 

“Thank you, Kunnie,” Johnny sighs and Kun snorts a laugh into Johnny’s back. 

“I can’t stand you,” he mutters on a laugh and Johnny laughs softly in return. 

“I know. Thanks for putting up with me anyway.” 

The storage room gets turned into a guest room, with two beds and a sitting area and the entire warehouse gets cleaned. It’s not an easy conversation with the squad but no one puts up a fight when it’s explained. If anything, everyone gets very, very quiet and Johnny isn’t sure whether that’s a good or a bad thing. Everything in the storage room gets built in silence and Jungwoo and Dejun make a keypad for it, welding it into place that evening. Kun oversees the work while Johnny calls around to the members of S.V.T. to warn them about the change over. Thankfully, no one is surprised by the change. 

They move them in that night but that requires them to go over to Joshua’s apartment, which he is less than willing to give them the address to. He does, under “advisement” from Junhui and when they show up to the apartment he’s less than dressed and still looks like hell. 

“Get in,” He says, walking away as soon as the door is open. Johnny and Kun share a look but don’t linger, coming into the apartment. It’s not small but it’s certainly not spacious and when they step inside they close the door softly behind them. Joshua doesn’t stick around, wandering his way back into his bedroom, holding the upper left side of his ribs. It’s the same place he was holding when Yuta carried him into the building the day before and Kun follows after him quickly. 

“Joshua—”

“They’re in my spare room,” he says, wincing as he sits down on the edge of the bed. “Junhui came over and informed them, they’re probably already packed up. Just be sure to have them keep their heads down when you leave, they tend to draw eyes.” 

“You’re in pain,” Kun states and Joshua looks at him through narrowed eyes, chest heaving with shallow breaths. “Is anyone staying with you, keeping an eye on you?” 

“I’m fine,” he replies. “I can take care of this on my own. Just take them and go.” 

Kun pauses in the doorway of Joshua’s bedroom, looking him over as he turns and lies down on his right, away from the doorway. Johnny’s hand wraps his bicep and when Kun looks Johnny shakes his head minutely. Kun glances at Joshua once more before going, the two of them looking for the spare room. 

The door on the right side of the hallway opens and Taeyong stands there, with his big eyes and spiky bangs falling into his eyes a bit. He’s already got a pair of boots on and a cloak wrapped around his shoulders. Jeonghan is zipping up his duffle bag inside the room. 

“Ready?” Johnny asks, voice soft. Taeyong nods without speaking and turns to look at Jeonghan. He heaves his duffle over his shoulder and walks over to meet them. Taeyong picks his up from where it’s sitting next to the door and Johnny nods to the hallway. The two of them step out of the room, closing the door softly behind them. It’s clear that Joshua isn’t expecting a goodbye, the way he’s still curled up in his bed, and the two of them don’t stop to check on him as they head for the door. 

Johnny leads the four of them out of the apartment but Kun stops in the doorway, looking over his shoulder. Joshua didn’t look good and if no one is looking after him… it just doesn’t sit right with Kun. He rests a hand on the doorway, averting his eyes down and to the side as he thinks it over. Johnny notices a few meters ahead that he’s lost Kun and turns around, a crease in his brow. 

“Kun?” 

“Go ahead,” Kun says, shifting backward into the apartment. “I’m gonna stay here for a short while.” 

“Kun,” Jeonghan says, voice soft. Kun offers him a gentle smile, walking over to fix his hood so it sits a little closer to his face, tucking his hair back. He and Taeyong are sure to catch eyes if they’re not careful but he and Johnny drove for that reason. He looks at Taeyong softly as well before stepping back towards the apartment again. 

“You can trust Johnny,” Kun assures them. “But I’m gonna stay here with Joshua. He’s in a lot of pain.” 

“Suit it yourself,” Johnny sighs. His eyes are distressed, a warning to Kun to be careful. Joshua isn’t dangerous, especially not now, but he’s got a sharp tongue when he wants to. Kun’s made of some tough stuff but that doesn’t mean Joshua won’t say some terrible things if he wants to be alone. “Take care of him,” he adds though and that concern that Johnny carries for Joshua, possibly always will, shines through. 

“I will,” Kun assures him. “Go on, before someone sees you,” he tells them. Johnny reaches an arm out for Jeonghan where he’s a few steps behind and he walks faster to fall into step with them. Kun steps back through the threshold and closes the door softly. 

He toes off his boots and hangs his jacket on the hook by the door. He can hear it when Joshua breathes in too deeply because it’s cut off by a sharp hiss and a groan of pain. Kun knew from the moment he laid eyes on the way Joshua was clutching himself that whatever the cops had hit was going to put him in a lot of pain and the knowledge that he’s alone just doesn’t sit right with Kun. He can’t help but be concerned, even if Joshua has someone coming in on occasion, he needs more than that. So Kun walks towards the ajar bedroom door and pauses in the doorway. 

He’s curled away from the door with his hand splayed over his ribs, as though holding them will keep it together. His breathing is shallow, probably because the muscles and bones are too bruised and painful for him to breath in all the way. Kun steps into the room and crosses the carpet softly, socked feet not making any noise. When he gets to the bed he sits down softly, and Joshua’s head whips around to view him, shaking his head when he sees Kun and curling further into himself. 

“I told you to go,” He spits but Kun rests a hand on the backside of his ribs and he flinches, muscles jumping as he chokes on air. 

“You’re hurt,” Kun states, “and it’s bad. I’ve barely touched you. Your ribs are probably bruised and so is your lung. That’s why you can’t breathe,” Kun tells him. Joshua tucks his chin against his bare chest. “If you don’t put something on it to control the swelling it’s going to constrict your lungs further and you’re going to have an even harder time breathing. I’m going to get you some ice.” 

Kun comes back from the kitchen with a handful of ice from the automatic freezer wrapped in a towel and sets it on the dresser to help Joshua sit up. He tries to fight Kun but the minute Kun steps back and he moves the wrong way his eyes pinch shut and he gasps for air. The pain is bad, this is clear based on the way Joshua can barely hold himself up, and Kun reaches for him again to help him. Once Joshua is on his right side, facing Kun, Kun moves his arm above his head to carefully rest the ice on his ribs. It’s cold and the muscles jump again from the pain of the ice and the shock of the chill but it calms down shortly. 

“Why don’t you want me here?” Kun asks, voice soft. Joshua snorts, tucking his face further into his pillow. 

“No offense, but asking for help on a job and letting you into my apartment are two very different things,” he says, plainly. “And for all the help you guys have been you have to understand that there are reasons why I keep you guys at arm's length.” 

“Because of Johnny.” 

“So you know.” It’s not a question. 

“He’s said things,” Kun says. “Not everything but I can fill some blanks on my own.” Joshua shakes his head a little bit. “You can’t hold it over his head forever, you know. He’s been doing all these things for all these years because he feels guilty but even I know, from the limited knowledge I’ve been given, that it wasn’t just his fault.” 

“You don’t know that,” Joshua says, sitting up. His side protests as he does so and Kun moves the ice away as Joshua meets his eyes. “Things could’ve gone a lot differently for the three of us but we’re never gonna know the truth. If he hadn’t been so impulsive—” 

“Johnny Suh is a fucking moron,” Kun cuts him off. “He’s an idiot who is, yes, impulsive. He doesn’t always use his head entirely and he makes exceptions when he shouldn’t and he’s got a heart that’s way too fucking big for his body but he’s spent all these fucking years trying to make it up to you and Seungcheol. You see that, don’t you?” Kun says and Joshua’s eyes fall to the side. “I’m not telling you to forgive him. I don’t.” Joshua’s eyes lift again, sharp and quick. “But you could at least look at all that he as done and leave the fucking man alone. He’s atoned for his sins, has he not?” 

“He could’ve gotten the both of us killed.” 

“And he knows that. I don’t think you understand how willing Johnny would be to throw himself in front of a fucking cable car for you!” Kun insists. “He cares for you, whether you like it or not, both of you. And I think the least you can do is accept that and stop putting him through the ringer because you’re angry at the outcome.” 

“Were you ever a pilot, Kun?” Joshua asks, voice steely. 

“Yes.” Joshua pulls back the slightest bit. “Yes, I was. And don’t you ever fucking tell Johnny that or I’ll kill you with my bare hands. I know how it can be, what it feels like on that stand. Don’t tell me I don’t understand the feeling of having the rug pulled out from underneath you in the middle of battle. The sound of your vitals dropping at the same time as your beast.” Joshua’s chest rises and falls rapidly with short, shallow breaths, still unable to take deep ones. “It’s a terrifying feeling. But it is not just a monitor’s job to watch your vitals and it is not just Johnny’s fault that it happened to you. So let it go.” 

“BigHit?” Joshua’s voice is barely above a murmur. 

“No,” Kun replies. “It doesn’t matter,” he brushes off. He maneuvers Joshua back onto the bed, pressing the ice delicately against his ribcage. His eyes pinch shut at the onslaught of sensation but Kun is gentle anyway, resting a firm hand on the center of Joshua’s chest to keep him still. “But I meant what I said,” he tells him, voice soft. “Johnny’s not to know about my past as a pilot. Ever.” 

“Got it.” 

While Kun tends to Joshua, Johnny drives the two of them over to the warehouse. He remembers almost immediately why he doesn’t drive in the city, the bump and grind of cars trying to wedge their ways around each other, the smell of gasoline thick in the air, contributing to the already dire smog situation. Rather than either of them sit up front with him, both of them huddle in the back of the tiny electric car, Taeyong’s chin hooked over Jeonghan’s while they look out the window, hands tangled together in Jeonghan’s lap. Johnny keeps a close eye on them in his rearview mirror when he’s trying not to get hit by a fellow driver. 

The residentials are quite a ways from the warehouse district and Johnny resists the urge to white knuckle the steering wheel all the way back. When they finally clear out from the main drag Johnny can finally breathe again and he glances up in the rearview, noting that the two of them have barely moved from where they’re curled up together. 

He pulls up to the front of the warehouse and climbs out first, shutting the door gently. Jungwoo and Dejun are inside to greet them as Kun thought it best two of their most mild mannered be there to help them adjust. Johnny pauses at the driver’s side door for a moment before coming around to open the door for them. They slip out of the vehicle together and Johnny pops the trunk to let them grab their stuff, waiting for them by the door. 

Johnny lets them into the warehouse, disarming the alarm before setting it up again. He’s even more thankful for it now that he’s got the two of them in the building and he notes the careful way Taeyong watches him key in the codes. He doubts they’ll ever leave alone but if they need it he’s not going to stop them from knowing it. 

To say the change is awkward would be an understatement but they seem to take to Jungwoo and Dejun well enough, the two of them leading them further into the warehouse. Johnny keeps his distance. He can tell that he cuts an unnerving picture for the two of them and wants them to feel comfortable. This isn’t the life they know, everything has been thrown into disarray since Seungcheol and Jihoon’s arrest but hopefully this will be better for them. At least a little bit. 

The storage room has a keypad with an eight digit code and Jeno and Yuta did a surprisingly good job sprucing it up for them. It is, by no means, a five star hotel but it’ll be comfortable for them and the in-warehouse bathroom and kitchen will be more than enough for them for the time being. Johnny has high hopes that, even though Seungcheol and Jihoon aren’t eligible for bail, they won't be in for too long. It’s a high profile case, or at least it will be once the press gets ahold of it and the courts won’t want that kind of media storm swirling around for too long. 

Johnny doesn’t see Kun again until past midnight and the door echoes loudly through the warehouse when it falls shut. The door to the storage room has been locked since Jeonghan and Taeyong got in but Johnny is still in the warehouse, wandering around, being nervous. He’s not sure why, no one even knows about their existence other than the boys of S.V.T. and N.C.T. and the warehouse is the last place someone is going to come looking for them. Even so he’s still wandering around the place like a ghost and Kun stops short when he notices Johnny standing in the kitchen, holding a mug. 

“Coffee?” He asks, voice low. 

“Yeah, okay,” Kun agrees. His shoes are left by the door and he wanders over to the kitchen where Johnny’s extra large french press is still steaming away on the counter. Johnny doesn’t move from the counter while Kun goes about pulling down a mug and pouring himself a cup, both of his hands wrapped around his mug. When Kun falls into the counter next to him he finally notices what Johnny is looking at. 

The hallway in the corner of the warehouse that leads back to the storage closet, the bathroom, the conference room and the storage room. Their guest room, for the time being. 

“You have to sleep eventually,” Kun says, bringing his coffee to his lips. 

“Eventually,” Johnny mutters. “I’ve survived off of five hours for a week before,” he comments and Kun rolls his eyes. “I’ll be fine.” 

“You should not sleep here either,” Kun warns him. Johnny grunts but doesn’t fight him. “You make them nervous.” 

“I know,” he sighs, eyes falling to the dark brown of his coffee. “I just feel like… I need to be here. I know hovering isn’t going to help but I can’t help it. What if something happens?” 

“No one even knows they’re here. Hardly anyone even knows they exist.” It’s a weird thing to say and an even weirder realization. The circle of people who truly know that those two exist can be traced back to just their squad and the S.V.T. team. BigHit may have had them in their possession but they never figured out what they were and even if they know now they don’t have the evidence to back them up. They don’t really exist at all in the government’s eyes and while that’s a problem for a lot of reasons it is very useful to them now. They’re just ghosts in this world to everyone who’s never seen them. 

“You think that’ll keep them safe?” Johnny asks, voice soft. 

“I think it can’t hurt,” he replies, honestly. “Until we have reason to believe that they might be known, truly known for what they are, try to relax. They’re not real to anyone that’s not seen them.” 

“I’ll do my best.” 

Johnny still finds it hard to leave the warehouse the nights following, even though he has someone in the warehouse at all times, as a safety measure. Perhaps it’s a little over zealous but this is unlike anything he’s ever done for Seungcheol so he’s doing his best. They don’t take any jobs that take more than a couple of them out of the warehouse at a time and Johnny finds he has to get used to the appearance of the S.V.T. boys coming in and out of his warehouse. 

It might be the first time the S.V.T. employees have ever been inside the N.C.T. warehouse and Johnny does his best not to let it shake him. He has to get used to it, the flurry of activity that is people wandering about his company warehouse. Granted, it’s not all of them, and it’s for a reason, but he can’t help but get a little bit startled when he’s coming down the stairs and Junhui and Mingyu are in his kitchen. Every time he turns around it feels as though Soonyoung and Minghao are around the corner. The sudden influx of additional personnel might actually be more stressful than the knowledge that he’s keeping what are, essentially, two illegal lifeforms in his warehouse. 

Johnny and Kun start going to see Seungcheol and Jihoon when a week goes by without anything moving forward. The trial is scheduled for a month post their arrest, but it feels like a lifetime. Word travels quickly in such a small group of people and Johnny looks at the storage room door for a long time when he comes back from their first visit at the jailhouse with Seungcheol and Jihoon. It’s not the worry of how long they’ll be here but the worry of how they will deal with the news. 

He gets his answer when the weather breaks and he has to make his way to the roof to deal with the heating system. It’s been cold lately but there’s a frost coming and the last thing he needs is for someone in this warehouse to get sick because the heating system broke on them. As usual Kun sends him up to the roof to make sure the vents are functional because he 1) hates being on the roof and 2) hates dealing with the heating system. Just as well, it’s an old warehouse and it’s temperamental on a good day so Johnny climbs up to the roof via the ceiling hatch to deal with it. 

The last thing he expects is to see someone already up there. 

“Jesus Christ,” he curses, clutching his chest. He rests his forehead on the edge of the hatch to catch his breath but when he lifts his head again he doesn’t think they heard him. 

It’s a ghostly image, one of the men from the lab sitting up on the roof, his white blond hair being tousled by the wind, his pale complexion against the black skyline, smog wrapping around the buildings like black fog while soft, white mist ghosts from his lips. His head is turned slightly and Johnny can make out the shape of his profile, the height of his nose and his cheekbones and the length of his hair. This is Jeonghan who’s about to catch his death up here and Johnny clamors his way out of the hatch, boots making the metal roof echo ominously with every step. 

“Hey,” he says, voice soft and Jeonghan turns to look at him. “What’re you doing up here? It’s cold and you’ll get sick.” 

“Sorry,” he apologizes. His voice is soft, just a tad nasally but it’s cute, gentle. He doesn’t move to get up and Johnny sighs deeply, peeling off his extra layer to wrap it around Jeonghan’s shoulders. He’s not wearing much other than a thick flannel over a t-shirt, he must be freezing, and Johnny gets down to sit next to him. Jeonghan looks at him for a long moment, eyes darting away hesitantly when he sees Johnny catch him. Johnny looks out at the skyline with him, the silence a little bit awkward but Johnny can’t think of anything he might have to say to Jeonghan. Nothing that comes to mind that might help, anyway. 

“Junhui said a month,” Jeonghan says and Johnny nods slowly. “That’s a long time.” 

“The legal system is… broken,” Johnny admits. “But as long as nothing gets moved around, by the time the trial is over you’ll be going home.” 

Even as he says it, he’s not entirely sure it’s true. And what’s more, he doesn’t know what ‘home’ could be for them. They had to destroy the basement room in the labs. They don’t have anything to go back to and if the labs get shut down there’ll be even less places for them to be. Where they’ll be in a month’s time could just be that room again or it could be in one of the S.V.T. boys’ apartments. The lab, possibly. It’s not really a life at all but it’s better than this omni-present fear. 

Not that it seems like that will be letting up any time soon either. 

“What’re you doing up here?” Johnny finally asks. “It’s not safe.” 

“I just needed to be alone,” he admits, eyes falling to the side. “Some place to think. I love Taeyong but… I dunno, I guess I just need some space sometimes.” 

“Yeah, I get that,” Johnny replies, voice soft. “I know you talk to Mingyu and Minghao about stuff, I know they’re like… always there for your mental health and things like that but… you and Taeyong can talk to us too,” he offers. Jeonghan’s eyes lift and he looks at Johnny. It’s kind of unsettling, the steadiness of his gaze. Johnny bundles in closer to himself. “Maybe you don’t trust us yet and that’s fine, I understand. But you don’t always have to hide in your room. You can get out, walk around. No one here is going to hurt you and… honestly, I think they could all due with a few more friends, y’know?” 

“You scared me,” he says and Johnny’s eyes dart around awkwardly. “In the beginning. Taeyong too. You scared us, when we first met you. You’re kind of imposing and intimidating in the beginning. But you’re not really like that at all, are you?” 

“No one who knows me could ever really be scared of me, I think,” Johnny tells him, uncurling slightly and adjusting to sit more comfortably. Comfort isn’t really that easy on the icy cold metal roof of their warehouse but he does what he can. “I do a good job of fooling people. In the field, in the city. But I’m not really scary at all, not in personality anyway.” 

“Are you scared of us?” He asks. 

“A little,” Johnny admits. There’s a fine crease in Jeonghan’s brow and he tilts his head, confused. Johnny huffs a slightly embarrassed laugh. “Not… because I think you’re scary but because of… the enormity of you and what you are and what you represent.” His eyes dart away as his features smooth out, unreadable. “I know you’re more than just what you were built to be but… it’s hard to move past sometimes, I guess.” 

“We’re just people,” he mutters.

“I know,” Johnny says. “And I’m gonna try to keep that in mind so long as you do as well.” Jeonghan’s head snaps to look at Johnny as he gets to his feet. “I feel like… you’ve been told a lot of things through your very short life that tell you that you’re more than that, in a very… clinical way. And I’d never say the S.V.T. guys didn’t have good intentions, because they did. I just also think that you both should just get to be people as well, y’know? The enormity of how you got here doesn’t always have to hang over your head.” 

“Okay,” Jeonghan agrees. “I’ll try to keep that in mind as well.” 

Johnny offers a hand and Jeonghan takes it, his smaller, slimmer hand slipping into Johnny’s easily. He’s light and thinly built, Johnny can lift him to his feet easily and he nods to the door hatch. He helps Jeonghan through it before going back to the heating system, hoping to get in working order. 

Things change in the wake of their conversation but it’s nothing monumentous. Jeonghan and Taeyong still spend most of their time in their room but they do, on occasion, come out to speak to the others. There seems to be a visible easement in the tension of Junhui’s shoulders when he takes in the change. Johnny wonders if, perhaps, Junhui was also getting worried about it, their tendency to keep to themselves. 

The real change that Johnny starts noticing is the lack of Kun in the warehouse. He can’t pin down where Kun is and when he returns he doesn’t talk about what it is he’s been doing. Johnny doesn’t let it bother him, everyone in the squad sometimes has a tendency to run jobs on their own, outside the company, and so long as it doesn’t interfere with what goes on inside the warehouse Johnny’s never had a problem with it. Johnny’s done it on his own on occasion but he can’t help but take note of Kun’s change in behavior. 

Just as well, Kun doesn’t say anything to anyone about his where-abouts. It’s hard to tell your fellow leader that you’ve been going to and from his ex-colleague’s apartment to make sure he’s not overexerting a dangerous injury. Especially when you’ve never been particularly close with them to begin with and you don’t actually have an excuse as to why you keep frequenting their apartment. 

Other than a secret that you can, have and will never tell them about. 

He lets himself into Joshua’s apartment the second week Seungcheol and Jihoon are in the slammer and Joshua is standing in the hallway, waiting for him. He’s got a crease in his brow and a frown on his face that tells Kun that he’s got something to say. It startles him a bit that he can guess what that facial expression means. 

“You were a pilot,” Joshua says and Kun shuts the door a tad harder than necessary behind him. “Tell me about it.” 

“Are you on your pain medication?” Kun asks in lieu of a response. 

“No,” he scoffs. “I’m asking. Tell me about it.” 

“I won’t,” Kun says, straight forward. “I don’t talk about it with anyone and I won’t talk about it with you either. Don’t try and build a rapport with me or something, Joshua, it’s not worth it,” he brushes off. “Go lie down, I’ll make you some tea.” When he goes to walk towards the kitchen Joshua’s hand reaches out, grabs him by the bicep. Kun stops but doesn’t look at him, eyes focused into the middle distance. 

“I let you in my apartment and effectively nurse me back to health. I listened to you when you said to give Johnny a chance and I will. But you got to give me something too,” Joshua tells him, voice close to Kun’s ear. He shifts closer, stifling a groan of pain. It’s not as bad as it was but he’s by no means mended. “I don’t consider what you’re doing a favor, I know better. It's pity and it’s an apology for what happened to the labs. Tell me about your time as a pilot and I’ll consider it repayment.” 

“It was a long time ago,” Kun says. “There’s nothing about it that’s worth talking about now. All it’s going to do is dredge up bad memories for the both of us.” He still doesn’t look at Joshua as he says it. “And there’s nothing from that time in my life that I’d want to relive anyway. Trust me.” 

“Why’d you retire then?” 

“Because I lost,” Kun says. He meets Joshua’s eyes then. “Because I lost and I couldn’t get him back. That’s why. But that was a long time ago and getting wrapped up in something that I can’t take back isn’t going to do me any good.” He steps out of Joshua’s grip, Joshua’s hand falling back to his side. “Why ask now? Has it really been bothering you all this time?” 

“You said you don’t forgive Johnny,” he states and Kun nods once, short and decisive. “What don’t you forgive him for?” 

“Should I make a list?” 

“I’m serious,” Joshua insists. “Tell me what the fuck you don’t forgive him for. Because I need to understand how the fuck you work with him, day in and day out, never forgiving him for what he’s done but living with it. Just letting it stand there, like it doesn’t exist.” 

“It does exist and Johnny and I both know it,” Kun tells him. “The difference is that I’ve long since made peace with it and so has he. Nothing he says or does will ever amount to what he did, no matter how long he keeps at it. But the past is the past and there’s no point in dwelling in it.” 

“What did he do?” Joshua asks, voice low and gravelly, insistent. Kun lifts his chin just a bit, squaring his shoulders. 

“He used me. For a really, really fucking long time, he used me. If Johnny ever loved me it wasn’t when I loved him and I know that. And he knows that. And leading me on as a replacement for Seungcheol isn’t ever going to not hurt.” Joshua’s eyes meet his, stoney and cold. “I know what Johnny did to you two but it goes so far past it. Like dominoes; when one fell they all did and Johnny is still picking up the pieces from the mess he’s made. Isn’t that enough?” 

“Did he ever apologize?” 

“Profusely,” Kun admits, a little shrug tacked onto the word. Like it means nothing, like it’s just the way it is. “Didn’t matter. What I felt for Johnny was different. Deeper. I’ll never forgive him for treating me like a puppet just because he was lonely. We both know that and it touches everything we do. That doesn’t stop us from working together though.” 

“Do you still love him?” 

“No. I haven’t in a very, very long time.” 

That night in Joshua’s apartment is silent but warm. When Kun reaches out to touch, Joshua doesn’t flinch back anymore, he goes willingly into Kun’s hold. There is a part of Kun that is hesitant to let this happen, to allow Joshua to be so complacent in the wake of his confession but his cards are on the table. It’s not his job to tell Joshua how he wants to handle his own hand in response. What lies in the wake of what Kun told him is uncertain but it’s evident that the temperature is rising. 

He still doesn’t linger, he finishes helping Joshua with his injury, with his dinner, and goes back to the warehouse. Joshua doesn’t bid him good night and Kun puts the spare key back when he leaves. He’s not meant to be a fixture in Joshua’s home. He’s just temporary. 

Johnny would, by no means, call himself an expert in terms of people and understanding changes in their behavior but he does notice them. There are day to day changes in the way Jeonghan and Taeyong speak to the others, how often the S.V.T. boys are in, which ones drop by for occasional chats and who actually stay for long periods and come in frequently. He learns the casual ticks of Jeonghan and Taeyong, how they associate with others, how they spend their time. Johnny becomes used to it. 

Taeyong stays more to himself and in the room. He will not openly seek conversation but he does welcome it when it is offered to him. He needs slight pushes to get more comfortable around other people but he’s doing his best. He is withdrawn, hard to speak to at times and will disappear into the room for long hours. No one has pushed him about it but Johnny notes that Junhui and Mingyu have creases in their brows more often than not when they speak with Taeyong. It’s worrisome but they haven’t said anything to Johnny about it yet so he tries to keep his opinions to himself. 

Jeonghan seeks solitude but not in the room. Johnny has found him in various empty rooms in the house, sometimes even the main room, with it’s singular large window, curled up on the sofa and looking out. He does look for conversation though it is sparing and he still sometimes needs a nudge to be more independent and speak with others within the warehouse. When he disappears it’s not usually for long but if it is he will show back up in a routine manner, for the bathroom or to eat something. It doesn’t feel as though the others react as negatively when they finish speaking with Jeonghan but Johnny wonders if that’s just wishful thinking. 

But one thing is certain, they are very close. Not in an unnatural way but more in the way that one might expect siblings, close siblings, maybe even twins, to be. It would make sense and you can often find them together having silent conversations or just lounging around. Johnny once entertained the idea that they might actually be able to read each other’s minds but that’s far fetched, even for all they are. Being that they are the only ones who truly understand what the other is going through it’s good that they lean on each other. 

Squad members maintain a routine nightly watch in the warehouse, sleeping inside as an added precaution to the alarm system already in place. It’s unclear that it’s entirely necessary but it does help Johnny sleep better at night knowing there is something there if they do need someone. He and Kun take shifts of their own, usually the weekends when the city is most rambunctious and the threat of a break in is even higher. 

It’s on one of these nights that Johnny comes in in the evening, having been out working with someone who was trying to contact them, and finds the warehouse quiet. He arms the alarm and turns slightly, jumping in surprise. Jeonghan looks at him from the kitchen, big eyes, soft features, a mug in his hands. 

“Goodness,” Johnny sighs. He toes off his shoes and hangs up his jacket, keeping his weapons nearby. “You scared the hell out of me, just standing there.” 

“I thought you saw me,” he comments. There’s a mischievous little upward tilt to the corner of his lips and Johnny wonders if letting Jeonghan become friends with the likes of Renjun and Sicheng was such a good idea. He crosses the large great room to meet him in the kitchen, reaching up for a mug. There’s a full pot of tea on the counter and Johnny pours himself some.

It’s not quite silent in the warehouse. There’s freezing rain coming down outside and pinging softly against the metal of the roof and sides of the warehouse. Neither of them speak as it fills the air with white noise, wind whistling through the streets, along the walkways and alleys of the warehouse district. Johnny has wondered if the sounds of the warehouse district bother them, if they find it hard to sleep at night because of them but neither of them have ever said anything. Jeonghan stares into the middle distance as he sips his tea, as though contemplating something. 

It’s not very often Johnny is alone with one of them. Even less so is he alone with Taeyong but Jeonghan, despite it not being a very big warehouse, is surprisingly allusive. Other times they are both around every corner, the smallness of their building all the more apparent. Generally, however, there are other people in the building, someone else lurking around a corner, sitting at the tables, upstairs working on the computers or some files in the situation room. Being alone with someone in here is rarely ever possible and Johnny takes this time, while they are alone, to catalogue Jeonghan in his mind. 

He is shorter than Johnny, but not terribly so, even taller than Kun. But he is thinly built, with a narrow waist, legs and arms, off set by a pair of broad shoulders. There isn’t much about him that’s bulky and Johnny supposes that plays well into his handsome, kind of androgynous features. He’s never asked though it does stick in his mind sometimes what they were going for when they built these two, given the structures of their faces, the gentle rounded edges of them and soft lines. It adds a bit to their abnormality, Johnny thinks, their traditionally adrogynen features, the alabaster of their skin tones and white blond of their hair. But their eyes, they’re very human, big and brown. He thinks he’s heard Jungwoo call Taeyong’s irises boba eyes before. It’s not an untrue comparison by any means. 

“Johnny,” Jeonghan says, turning his head and Johnny’s brows lift. He doesn’t even turn away, has long since decided to meet someone’s eyes when they catch him looking. He’s not ashamed but a gentle blush does come upon Jeonghan’s cheeks. “May I ask you something?” He says, eyes darting aside briefly. 

“You can ask me anything.” 

“Has anyone spoken to you about Taeyong?” He asks, voice dropping to a hush. Johnny moves closer to hear him and Jeonghan meets his eyes from under his pale lashes. “The others. Junhui or… or Minghao?” 

“They haven’t,” Johnny admits. “Why do you ask?” 

“They were asking me about him the other day,” he admits. “I think they’re worried because… he’s shy. I mean, he’s been a bit… quieter, as of late,” Jeonghan struggles out and Johnny tilts his head, leaning towards him, curious. “I don’t think it’s anything worth worrying about. He hasn’t said anything to me, and he would, if he felt… I dunno, Junhui used the word depressed but I don’t think that’s the case.” 

“You’re certain?” Johnny asks and Jeonghan nods. “Jeonghan, I know you and Taeyong are close but are you asking because you want to know what I think or are you asking because you can’t be sure yourself?” Jeonghan meets his eyes abruptly, lips parting just a little in surprise. “I don’t mean to say that as though to question you or your relationship with Taeyong I just… I want to know what you’re asking of me.” 

“What do you see?” 

“He’s withdrawn,” Johnny says. “He doesn’t get out as often as you do and you’re both stuck here, scared, uncertain of your future. You can stop me if I’m wrong.” Jeonghan shakes his head. “I think he might be but… I’m no expert. You’re both under a lot of stress and it can manifest in different ways.” 

“He’s having trouble sleeping,” Jeonghan says, voice dropping even smaller, almost a whisper, at the same time his eyes fall to the floor. “I am too but he wakes up often.” 

“Have you told them?” 

“Not yet.” 

“Jeonghan,” Johnny says gently and he meets Johnny’s eyes hesitantly. “I think the best thing you can do to help him is just be honest with the boys. They just want to help. You trust them, right?” He asks and Jeonghan nods, certain. “Then just tell him. They’ll do everything they can to make it easier on you.” 

“What if-” he cuts himself off and Johnny sets his mug aside to rest a careful hand on Jeonghan’s arm. Jeonghan swallows. “What if we become too much work?” 

“That’s not gonna happen,” Johnny tells him. “You mean a lot to these guys and in more ways than just a science experiment or a future for cell technology. They care about you,” he insists but he still sees fear and hesitance in Jeonghan’s eyes. “And I know you may not trust me right now but I promise you that, no matter what, we’re gonna do everything we can to keep you safe. Okay?” 

“Okay,” he replies. “Thank you, Johnny.” 

They don’t stay in the kitchen. It’s getting late anyway and Jeonghan leaves his side to slip back into his room. The door shuts and the chime of the keypad lock tells Johnny that he’s secured it. Johnny looks back at the mug in the sink, empty but ringed with tea stains. There is at least one other that hasn’t been cleaned, most likely from Taeyong and his own mug joins them shortly. 

He doesn’t have any work to do but he climbs the stairs anyway, headed for the situation room. 

Junhui tells them that they’re putting Taeyong on medication two days later. It’s a light medication and it’s only to help him sleep. The hope is that maybe it will ease his worries if he starts getting better rest. Johnny doesn’t know for sure whether that’s true or not but knowing that Jeonghan said something settles something in the pit of his stomach. 

It’s a minimum security jail just outside of the city where they’re holding Seungcheol and Jihoon and Johnny is already waiting in the private meeting room when Seungcheol gets to him. He holds his hands out for the cuffs to be removed for his wrists and then he sits down across from Johnny. It’s been four weeks since their first conversation in the basement of the precinct. He doesn’t look much different, a little bit of stubble, his hair is flatter and perhaps a bit more tired but that’s all. Even so, Johnny can’t help himself. 

“Beige isn’t really your color, I’ve learned,” Johnny informs him as Seungcheol gets comfortable. He’s been wearing the exact same beige jumpsuits, provided by the jailhouse, since they arrived but he snorts anyway, shaking his head at Johnny. “I don’t think you should wear it again once you get out of here.” 

“I don’t have plans on it,” Seungcheol snarks back. Johnny smiles gently. “How are things?” 

“Good. Everyone’s doing well,” Johnny says. “The courthouse has started contacting me because Joshua isn’t answering them and you never changed that information,” he tells him and Seungcheol averts his eyes shyly. “They wanted to keep your next to kin up to date but we both know the story there. So they’re getting in touch with me now. Just as well really, at least I’ll remember to tell everyone.” 

“Thanks,” Seungcheol says. “How are the boys?” 

“Everyone’s well,” Johnny confirms. “Joshua’s still being a shit and not talking to me but that’s no surprise,” he informs him but Seungcheol only shakes his head. “The rest of the boys are in and out of mine, checking in on the two of them. We’re doing okay,” he assures him and Seungcheol nods. “Junhui did make a slight change for Taeyong, however,” he says and Seungcheol’s head lifts a bit, a concerned crease in his brow. “He’s putting him on sleep medication. He’s not sleeping well, Jeonghan asked me about it a number of days ago. They think it’ll help, he’s been withdrawn, hard to talk to sometimes. They’re hopeful that if he sleeps better it’ll ease some of his worries, his anxieties.” 

“We’ve always been close,” Seungcheol mutters, eyes sliding away as a frown turns down his lips. Johnny tilts his head, a crease forming in his brow. “It must be hard on him. You’ll let him know I’m okay, right? And that I’m coming back?” He asks and Johnny nods. “I think he just needs some reassurance.” 

“I’ll tell him. But you know, I didn’t mention the courthouse just because it was convenient,” Johnny says. Seungcheol’s hands rest on top of the metal table, eyes meeting Johnny’s intently. 

There’s nothing about this information that Johnny wants to tell him. It’s uncomfortable for a lot of reasons, on top of the fact that everything about this is unnatural. He and Seungcheol aren’t the type to mince words with each other, never have been, but the sterile nature of this room, the nondescript white walls, the pressing eyes of the guards, the fact that he and Seungcheol have a mere hour to speak before it’s another seven days before Johnny can come see him again. The silence doesn’t suit either of them but in the wake of this timed meeting for some reason the words just won’t come. 

“The trial got pushed back,” he chokes out and Seungcheol leans forward, face in his hands. His elbows keep him suspended above the table top and Johnny would like to reach out and touch but he knows he’s not allowed to. This is already a lot better than the alternative and he’s not going to test his luck with the guards nearby but Seungcheol lifts his head and he looks strung out. He scrubs his hands over his face before meeting Johnny’s eyes again. 

“How far?” 

“Three weeks.” He closes his eyes as though bracing himself. “I tried to talk to them, I told them about the labs but they said since the labs themselves are under investigation it won’t matter. They said that since it’s a malpractice suit it’s not nearly as pressing, and you can imagine the earful Kun gave them over it.” Seungcheol snorts as he nods. “They wanted to postpone longer but Kun was able to get you guys a trial in three weeks. So long as they don’t try to pull anything else everything should go according to your plans.” 

“Yeah,” Seungcheol sighs. “Our lawyer thinks we have a good case.” 

“Who do you have?” 

“Some city assigned stuck-up named Dongyoung,” he brushes off. “He said he’s worked cases like this before, that’s it’s all horseshit anyway. Most genetic synthesis malpractices get dismissed in a minute anyway because it’s just labs trying to kick each other out of the game with mostly circumstantial evidence. Trying to monopolize the information used to create beasties. He’s seen what we have, which is a big nothing in terms of physical evidence that they have to prosecute for. We have a good case.” 

“That’s great,” Johnny replies. “But you’re still in here. Which is the problem.” 

“You have it handled,” Seungcheol replies. “I trust you.” 

“God knows why, Joshua doesn’t,” Johnny retorts. “But I’m doing what I can.” 

“That’s all I asked. Let them know I’m okay and tell the others about the trial postponement. We’ll get out of here when we can, I’m sure of it.” 

They use up most of the hour talking about mundane things, how the rest of the S.V.T. boys are doing and how the squad is handling the change of pace. Things have been mostly the same even with the additions to the warehouse, small jobs here and there. Johnny wouldn’t say there’s been anything particularly out of place but he also doesn’t know for sure whether this new information will be received well or not. 

A guard taps on the window to warn them when their time is up and Seungcheol merely shrugs his shoulders as he gets to his feet. The cuffs, in Johnny’s opinion, might be a little bit overkill for someone who’s in a minimum security jail for something like a malpractice suit but he doesn’t say anything as Seungcheol is guided from the room. 

Johnny does the rounds of informing everyone about the trial postponement and is met with varying degrees of disappointment. He doesn’t even tell Joshua to his face for fear of what that might entail and instead texts him the information. The only thing he gets back is an informal, “Okay. Thanks, John.” The rest of the boys are upset, Soonyoung especially, given the weight of S.V.T. Labs and all the people who have been hounding him about their deals. It’s hard on everyone, but especially Taeyong and Jeonghan. 

He lets Mingyu break the news to them rather than tell them himself because he just doesn’t know how they would react to him informing them. He knows when they know because Taeyong doesn’t leave the room and when Jeonghan does he climbs to the roof. Johnny still doesn’t know that that’s a good place for Jeonghan to be hiding out at but he doesn’t stop them. Everyone handles information like this in their own way so he merely tries to go back to work, keeping an ear out for anything that might come from above. 

“Johnny,” Yuta calls out to him that night when it’s just the two of them left in the warehouse. Johnny meets him in the main area, night falling as Yuta packs up the last of his things. The main area of the warehouse is made up of tables, chairs, file cabinets and desks all strewn about, a partial wall where the stairs lead overhead plastered to the right side of the room. 

“What’s up?” Johnny asks, tucking his hands into the pocket of his hoodie. 

“This trial,” Yuta sighs and Johnny nods. “Three weeks? Three more weeks? I understand that this is a favor to Seungcheol, really I do, but I don’t know that this is such a good idea. Keeping them here,” Yuta says and Johnny frowns. “I respect you as a boss and a friend but I meant what I said, that I didn’t sign up here to put my neck on the line for beastie tech. And the way the company has been running. We’re putting up some red flags for key players here.” 

“Yuta, I said at the beginning that if you don’t feel comfortable, you can go.” 

It’s a harsh way of putting it but Johnny meant it when he said it. If anyone in the squad didn’t feel comfortable with this change they don’t have to stick around for it, and just as well, their contracts are all open ended with a free-will termination clause. Johnny cares for all of his men, and Yuta especially, but if this isn’t what he wants to keep doing he doesn’t have to stay. And he knows it. 

“I don’t want it to come to that but Johnny if someone finds out about them your ass is on trial next,” He points out. “You see that, right? You’re an accomplice. And no offense but these small jobs, it’s drawing a big ass target on our backs, like we got soft or something. You’re not worried?” He asks, putting his hands on his hips. 

“Every company has down turns in productivity. I’m not scared of it,” Johnny replies. “I feel like you’re trying to find reasons we shouldn’t keep them here.” 

“Look, Johnny, this is your warehouse but you’re playing with fire and for what? Because Seungcheol asked?” Yuta says. Johnny bristles. “I’m not trying to make a scene but we’ve been doing favors for Seungcheol for a long time, ever since this started. When are you gonna be done? When are you finished sticking your neck out for this man?” 

“After this. After we do this we’re done.” 

“I just don’t believe it,” Yuta says. Johnny steps back, lifting his chin a bit. Yuta scoffs, shaking his head. “C’mon, John, look from my point of view. Every time you think it’s the last time he’s still got something else to ask of you. And you do it. Every time. And he knows you will so do you really think we’ll ever really be done doing things for him. You’ve made yourself out to be his loyal dog.” 

“Watch it, Yuta.” 

“I’m right,” he replies, eyes fiery and tone fierce. “You know I am. And if you really cared about stopping this you would’ve put your foot down so what’s stopping you?” 

“I owe him still.” 

“Do you? Or do you still have feelings you haven’t moved past? Because I know what happened Johnny.” Johnny’s jaw clenches as Yuta steps closer, almost in his face. “Five years is a long time to be carrying that torch, Suh.” 

“Get out, Yuta. Before I take you out.” 

Yuta scoffs but walks around Johnny and out the door, the door slamming and the alarm beeping. Johnny stays where he is, closing his eyes and letting the argument wash over him. He doesn’t argue with Yuta like that. 

He and Yuta are friends. Have been since the beginning of all of this. Yuta was an instrumental part in making N.C.T. what is now and Johnny doesn’t fight with him. Yuta knows a lot more about his past than some of the others and he’s never thrown it back in Johnny’s face like that. He doesn’t actually know whether or not Yuta is going to come back after that fight, and that’s the worst part, the part that makes him the most upset. 

“Johnny,” a soft voice says and when Johnny looks to the stairwell Jeonghan is coming down them carefully. He huffs a heavy breath, shaking his head as his chin falls to his chest. Jeonghan approaches carefully, cheeks and nose pink from the cold, heavy jacket and flannel wrapped around his thin frame. He’s probably been outside all day and God knows how much he just heard while on his way down from the rooftop. 

“Sorry, Jeonghan,” Johnny apologizes, not lifting his head. “I didn’t think Yuta and I would do that.” 

“Is it true?” He asks. Johnny lifts his head hesitantly. He’s at the bottom of the stairs and walking towards him now, arms wrapping around himself. “That you have feelings for Seungcheol.” 

“No!” Johnny says and Jeonghan flinches back. Johnny crosses the room to him, gently resting his hands on his shoulders. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. I really, really do not feel that way about Seungcheol, I swear,” he tells him and Jeonghan meets his eyes carefully. “I did, at one point, but not anymore. I don’t feel that way about Seungcheol anymore.” 

“Then why do you do all these things for him?” Jeonghan asks. His voice is almost trembling and Johnny sighs softly. 

“That’s a… a long story, Jeonghan. Uhm… let me make some tea.” His hand comes up and brushes over Jeonghan’s cool cheek gently. “You must be cold.” 

In the residential district, on the other side of the city, Joshua toys with the paper tag of the tea bag. Kun’s got his jacket on and reaching for his boots. It’s not that late yet but the sky is dark, threatening to turn black on them. Joshua lifts his eyes from his lukewarm mug to view Kun, dropping his hand on the table. 

“What did Johnny tell you?” His voice is trepidatious at best and Kun drops his hand back to his side. When he turns around he finds Joshua staring intently at the table rather than himself. His dining table isn’t very big, just enough room for two people, and Kun walks back over towards him. He lays his jacket over the back of his chair and passes to get to the kitchen. 

“He said he got involved with Seungcheol when he shouldn’t have,” Kun says, pouring himself a new mug of tea. The water is still hot and he swirls the tea bag in the water for a moment before carrying it over to the table. He takes the other seat at the table under Joshua’s gaze. “He doesn’t go into detail about what happened, ever. I think he’s afraid to open those doors again.” 

“None of us really talk about it. I think Seungcheol… blames himself sometimes. He acts like he doesn’t but the way he strings Johnny along is him deflecting off the blame he has towards himself. It wasn’t really his fault but it wasn’t really Johnny’s either,” Joshua admits, voice soft. “Can I tell you about it?” He asks, fingers tracing shapes into the warped wood grain of the table. 

“I’m listening.” 

“The three of us… we were a team,” Johnny says, hands wrapped around a hot mug. Jeonghan is nestled into the opposite corner of the couch, cradling his own mug. He’s got a throw blanket from the loveseat wrapped around him that Johnny insisted he wear, still practically shivering from the cold. Johnny’s eyes are on the tea rather than Jeonghan. “We were a bunch of young, stupid kids, only 18, and Joshua had been collecting minatures since he was a kid. He was undefeated in the neighborhood in street battles and he had the money, the know how, to get involved with a lab. He enlisted Seungcheol and I as his monitors. I was on vitals and Seungcheol was on observation. We made a pretty good team early on.” 

It’s an understatement, really. Joshua had a winning streak a mile wide in the early days. After the building of his beastie, a carnivorous dog the size of a small house with razor sharp teeth, claws and a club-like tail named HellHound, they were practically unstoppable. Things have evolved rapidly since those days, beasties more elaborate, with a hell of a lot more tricks and features, but they did extremely well during their time on the circuit back then. 

Johnny’s always been clever, smart with technology, was placed on Joshua and HellHound’s vitals while Seungcheol and his keen eye were on observation. Rarely ever did he need them, he and HellHound were always on the exact same wavelength, could eviscerate the competition in ten minute battles. Many times people wondered what Joshua’s edge was but the fact of the matter was, he was just good. He and HellHound were built to understand each other and Johnny doesn’t know that, even now, he’s ever seen a pilot and a beastie who know each other as well as Joshua and HellHound did. 

“I guess you could call us cocky,” Joshua admits and Kun snorts. “I mean, a bunch of young adults making that kind of money in a new, favorite form of entertainment, of course we were. We thought we were on top of the world and, in some ways, we were. That was around the time Johnny and Seungcheol got involved.” 

Johnny still regrets it sometimes, the way he and Seungcheol fell into each other. It was easy as breathing, the kind of relationship built off of childhood friendship and the rush of success. They burned brightly and steadily, like a candle. Joshua was aware of what was going on but he never stopped them, said it made their team airtight. And it did, they were nearly inseparable for a long time, the three of them. 

“But everything burns out eventually, right?” Johnny mutters. “Joshua was up against this big company, they’re BigHit now but they were… something else before. Doesn’t matter. Sometimes I feel like if it wasn’t for me maybe BigHit wouldn’t be where it is now.” 

“That’s a lot to put on your own shoulders,” Jeonghan comments. 

“I know. But I fucked us over that night. Seungcheol and I got into a fight the night before, something stupid. I don’t even remember what it was but it was a big deal at the time. We weren’t talking the entire day leading up to the big battle when we got into the green room we just… were at each other. Joshua tried to calm us down but it was too much, too late. I walked out and left the tablet in Seungcheol’s hands.” 

“He just left but I couldn’t back out, not minutes before the battle,” Joshua explains. “So we made due with just us. But it was impossible, two person teams are never enough. Seungcheol didn’t run vitals and before I knew it, we were both dropping. My vitals nearly bottomed out before anyone noticed and they had to rush me to the hospital. HellHound was killed in the fight and I was in recovery for months. We retired from the circuit after that.” 

“And you still blame Johnny?” 

“Sometimes,” Joshua admits. “Sometimes it’s all I can do because I’m still so angry about that night. I almost died, Kun,” he insists, finally lifting his eyes from the table to meet Kun’s concerned gaze. “I lost my beast in a fight I knew I could take because Johnny walked out on us. Sometimes I blame Seungcheol too but… I think it was all our faults, really. We were so fucking sure of ourselves.” 

“I owe them everything,” Johnny mutters. Jeonghan crawls across the couch, mug discarded on the coffee table, to get to him. “If it wasn’t for me maybe we wouldn’t- maybe Joshua wouldn’t- maybe things would’ve been different,” Johnny settles. He sniffs once, setting his mug aside. It’s gone cold and he blinks a couple of times when he registers Jeonghan’s cold fingers on his face. His cheeks are numb but there’s water on Jeonghan’s fingertips. 

“That’s not your fault,” Jeonghan assures him. “You didn’t hurt Joshua. Maybe you did hurt Seungcheol but we all make mistakes. You have to move on too, Johnny.” 

“Sometimes I don’t know that I deserve to,” he admits, wiping at his face. “I’ve done a lot of pretty fucking awful things in my life, Jeonghan. A lot of things I can’t take back and I can’t apologize for because no one is ever going to forgive me. And I deserve it.” 

“No,” Jeonghan insists. “No, you don’t. You’re just human.” 

“You know,” Johnny mumbles, voice thick from crying. Jeonghan pulls his hands back as Johnny meets his gaze. “Sometimes I envy you. That you’re here, you’re where I am but you’re free. Clean slate, everything ahead of you. You have no past so you can just make a future.” 

“But I have nothing to learn from,” Jeonghan tells him. “I just have to hope I make the right decisions. I don’t know that I’m ready for that.” 

“That’s why you have us. Because we already made all the wrong ones for you.” 

“So that’s it,” Kun says and Joshua nods, once, slow. “That’s why you can’t forgive Johnny?” 

“That’s it. Now you know.” 

“It sounds like you don’t forgive yourself either,” Kun states. “You still beat yourself up over all that happened that night. But it doesn’t matter who’s fault it was because you can’t change the past, Joshua. You just have to move on, no matter how hard that is.” 

“You lost your beast too, right?” He asks. Kun nods. “Do you ever feel like you lost a part of yourself when you did?” 

“All the time,” Kun admits, voice barely above a whisper. “But they don’t tell you that when you get involved in these fights. They don’t tell you that letting that connection happen changes the way you can see the world, changes the way you act and speak with others. They’re just beasts to some people but it’s not the same once they’re in your head. But if HellHound cared about you the way you cared about them this isn’t what they’d want.” 

“How do I move on?” 

“Let the past go, Joshua,” Kun tells him. When he reaches across the table he rests a careful hand over Joshua’s wrist. “Let the future in.” 

When Kun finally does leave Joshua stops him again. Kun resists the urge to say something when Joshua’s hand rests on his shoulder, instead turning into the feel of lips pressed to his temple. It’s been so very, very long since someone has kissed him. It takes him a moment to register it as what it is and by the time he has Joshua has already stepped away, murmuring that Kun get home safe before disappearing into his bedroom. 

Yuta does not come back and when Johnny calls him they get into another argument. Kun has to take over the conversation to make sure Yuta isn’t thinking of doing anything stupid. He isn’t but he makes it very clear he’s not coming back to the warehouse until this business is over. Just as well, Kun thinks, if Yuta is going to be this hard headed about it. Johnny, however, does not tell Kun about the details of the fight and Kun doesn’t ask when it becomes apparent Johnny doesn’t want to talk about them. 

Three weeks is a long time before the trial can proceed but Johnny feels confident in saying that Taeyong’s condition doesn’t decrease. In fact, he only seems to be in better spirits when he receives mail from Seungcheol. Count on Seungcheol, Johnny thinks, to send a letter by their incredibly slow postal service rather than just have Johnny deliver it by hand. Regardless, it puts a smile on Taeyong’s face and it includes a few notes from Jihoon as well, some of the letters addressed to Jeonghan too. They seem to take comfort in it despite knowing that they two of them are out of reach for the time being. 

Taeyong sleeps better, he makes more conversation with others in the warehouse and Johnny is thankful to see it. 

“Have you given any thought to what happens when Seungcheol and Jihoon get out, by any chance?” Renjun asks while he, Johnny and Jeno are compiling information for a client. They still have some work they’re trying to accomplish so keep the warehouse running and these are some of the easier cases to agree to. Anyone will say anything to Renjun, Dejun or Sicheng in a bar, Johnny has long since discovered, and it’s very useful to them. 

“What do you mean?” Johnny asks, leaning on the back of Jeno’s chair. 

“They’re not going back to the labs, the room is destroyed,” Jeno points out mildly. “So they’ll need a place to stay. I like having hyungs here,” he admits and Johnny smiles warmly at the younger man. “They’re nice. So they’ll probably end up staying here for a while longer, won’t they?” He asks and Johnny thinks it over. 

There aren’t a lot of other places for them to go. And for all their hesitance in the beginning they’ve managed to carve themselves a hole in the daily lives of everyone in the warehouse. Then there’s the boys from S.V.T. and the possibility of their place shutting down. This isn’t a lab but it does leave Johnny with some questions, some thought for the future. 

If S.V.T. shuts down what’ll happen to that building? 

“Yes, I suppose,” Johnny confirms. “I don’t see why not. Unless they’re meant to move in with Seungcheol or Jihoon or what have you.”

“Kun said this is the last favor we’re doing for Seungcheol,” Renjun says, looking up from the files in his hand meaningfully. Johnny nods. “So… are we going to stop working for S.V.T.?” He asks, voice pitching up a bit, tone hesitant. 

Johnny didn’t think about that. Maybe. Other than his past with Seungcheol and Joshua what other reasons would they have to work for S.V.T.? They’re a lab, they make beasties on payment and give them out to clients once they’re complete. Other than this suit they’ve never had any problems so if S.V.T. doesn’t shut down what reason would N.C.T. even have to keep working with them? Their squad and the lab employees are friends but that’s as far as it goes in terms of relations. 

“I don’t know,” Johnny admits. “I suppose that depends on if they ever need us and if they’re willing to pay the price.” 

“Always a businessman,” Jeno comments, voice low. Johnny rolls his eyes, shaking his head. 

They’re good questions but not questions Johnny has had the time to entertain. He’s been thinking about a lot more happening in the present than the future as of late and the fact that this is going to come to an end in approximately two weeks is a weird thing to keep in mind. It’s always sitting in the back of his mind, the upcoming trial, thanks to the constant emails he keeps getting from the courthouse and their city appointed lawyer, but the meaning of the trial escapes his thoughts much of the time. 

It’s with these thoughts pushed to the very forefront of his mind that he walks through the warehouse in a vague haze. When he reaches the kitchen he finds Jeonghan there, as he usually does, but this time he’s bent over the counter, scribbling notes. Rare is it that Jeonghan is doing something like that, usually just thinking, contemplating things, but whatever is that’s got him now it requires brainstorming to understand. Johnny sidles up to him and offers his usual suggestion.

“Coffee?” He asks and Jeonghan startles a bit before smiling. 

“Yeah, I think that would be nice,” he agrees and Johnny nods, reaching up for his french press. Jeonghan leans back against the counter, closing the notebook and resting the end of his pen against his lips. Johnny glances at him occasionally as he sets up the press, admiring the pink of his lips around the pen, the contemplation that creases his brow. 

“Johnny,” he says after a series of moments and Johnny hums in reply. “How do you know if someone is in love?” 

“What kinds of things have I been missing?” He jokes and Jeonghan rolls his eyes, reaching over to swat him. Johnny chuckles as he sets the kettle on to boil. 

“Not me!” He insists. “I think it’s Taeyong,” he says with certainty. Johnny turns to him, brows lifted. “I think he has feelings for Seungcheol,” Jeonghan says and Johnny sighs heavily. “I don’t like that sound. What do you mean?” he demands and Johnny shrugs his shoulders. 

“I don’t know that that’s such a good thing,” he answers honestly. “But how do you know?” 

“I don’t, that’s why I’m asking you,” Jeonghan replies, smartly. Johnny laughs, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the counter with Jeonghan. “Neither of us have ever been in love, obviously, but the internet has all these cheesy descriptors of butterflies in your stomach and blushing and feeling happy for no reason at all. And I don’t know that Taeyong feels all of that but he’s been blushing and he seems happier. He seems happiest when we talk about Seungcheol,” Jeonghan explains. “But why don’t you think it’s a good thing?” 

“Because I don’t know that Seungcheol would feel the same,” Johnny admits. “Not that Taeyong isn’t handsome and sweet and interesting it’s just…” 

“The created-in-his-own-lab part?” Jeonghan asks, voice going soft. 

“Seungcheol once liked me, just trust me when I tell you, the man has no account for taste,” Johnny jokes and Jeonghan bumps his shoulder into his, hard, a smile on his lips. “I don’t want to see Taeyong get hurt.” 

“Me neither,” Jeonghan admits. “But what is it, people say? ‘You’ll never know if you don’t try’?” He comments and Johnny nods. The kettle whistles, taking him away from Jeonghan’s side, snatching it from the stove top. He can feel Jeonghan’s eyes on him as he pours the hot water over the coffee grounds. When he fits the top on he sets the kettle down with a finality. 

“Perhaps you’re right,” Johnny says. When he lifts his eyes Jeonghan doesn’t turn away. 

The last week or so before the trial is nothing but a blur as Johnny stops all possible jobs at week out from the trial to prepare everything. He doesn’t actually have much to do but he does need to at least look presentable, as does Kun, if they’re going to go to Seungcheol and Jihoon’s trial. The lawyer, a Mr. Kim Dongyoung, is very certain of the outcome of the trial even though it has yet to get dismissed by a judge. It’s a farce, he’s sure of it, and Johnny hopes to every God above that he’s right. 

There’s nothing truly that interesting to be said about going to the courthouse and sitting in while the prosecutor asks questions when he doesn’t have a shred of physical evidence on hand. The case is built off of circumstantial evidence that _suggests_ that Mr. Choi Seungcheol and Mr. Lee Jihoon have been creating something within their labs outside of the ethical requirements of genetic synthesis. The prosecutor doesn’t even have their supposed witness in the courtroom because they’re a ‘confidential informant’ that ‘wishes to remain anonymous.’ 

Five minutes in the courtroom they last before the judge dismisses the case. Mr. Kim asks if his clients are eligible to sue the city for unjust incarceration. 

They are.

Johnny’s not sure if he’s more thankful or more pissed off that they’ve been sitting in wait for Seungcheol and Jihoon to be released, for almost two months, only for their case to be dismissed in five minutes by the attending judge. He chooses to be thankful because the minute they’re out on the street Seungcheol is hugging him in a way they haven’t hugged in no less than five years. 

“Let’s take you home,” Johnny mumbles into his friend’s neck and Seungcheol’s laugh is wet into his neck. 

Technically, this was only a preliminary trial (Johnny doesn’t want to fathom how long it would’ve taken them to get to a proper trial if this had gone poorly), so the people attending were a very small group of people. The rest of the S.V.T. boys are lying in wait at the warehouse and the minute they enter it there’s shouting loud enough to raise the rafters. 

Kun shuts the door softly behind them while he and Johnny linger near the edge of the crowd as the boys welcome their lab owners back with open arms. Joshua isn’t crying but he’s a close thing when he tugs Seungcheol into his arms, thankful to see him again. Johnny knows that Joshua has spent this entire time acting like he wasn’t bothered but he was and it’s nice to see two people would’ve previously called his closest friends reunited again. 

Jeonghan and Taeyong are in the crowd as well and Seungcheol grabs Taeyong around the middle the minute he sees him. Johnny thinks he understands where Jeonghan is coming from when a blush erupts across Taeyong’s face as he tucks his face right into Seungcheol’s neck the moment he gets a chance. It’s clear that they’ve missed each other and now that Johnny is seeing it, he’s not sure that Jeonghan has anything to worry about. 

The difference between Seungcheol’s hug with Jeonghan and the one with Taeyong is stark, the way he hugs Jeonghan tightly but it’s not charged. It’s sweet but when Seungcheol unfolds himself from around Jeonghan his eyes search for Taeyong again. Seungcheol looks at Taeyong in a way that Johnny hasn’t seen Seungcheol look at someone in a long time. Even if he doesn’t know it himself he’s well on his way to feelings towards Taeyong. 

Feelings that Johnny can only ever remember seeing Seungcheol have towards him. 

The warehouse is warm with feeling that night and Johnny is more than happy to host the S.V.T. team until the late hours. It feels good to have everyone together again and everyone feels it, the way they loiter near Seungcheol and Jihoon, even his own boys. There’s a comradery between the two groups that’s palpable in the air, the desire to share happiness and thankfulness that, even in the hard times, they were able to lean on each other and come out the other side. 

Jihoon leaves with Mingyu and Wonwoo at some point during the night and Johnny watches Kun and Joshua leave around the same time. Everyone slowly filters out together, in pairs and threesomes, until it’s just the guests of the warehouse, Johnny and Seungcheol. Seungcheol wishes Taeyong a good night when he leaves but seems hesitant to let him go, even if he’s just down the hall. Jeonghan bows out after him, resting a lingering hand on Johnny’s shoulder before departing. 

And then there were two. 

“Thank you,” Seungcheol says, sitting down on the sofa. Johnny follows him, shaking his head. “I mean it. I know I’ve given you a lot of shit over the years but you really did something for me by doing this,” he insists and Johnny’s eyes fall away. “I meant what I said, too. You don’t owe me anything anymore, John. This was it.” 

“Well, I appreciate you saying that,” Johnny admits.

A heavy silence falls over them for just a moment before Seungcheol snorts.

“You know, sometimes I can’t believe we can be so silent after all the shit we’ve said to each other over the years,” he says. “And you know, I never apologized-” 

“Cheol,” Johnny interrupts. “Don’t, okay. You have nothing to apologize for.” 

“I do,” he insists. He turns on the sofa to face Johnny head on where he’s curled into the corner. Johnny looks smaller, tucked into that corner, so very small for such a larger-than-life man and Seungcheol wonders, briefly, if that’s his doing. “That wasn’t your fault, that night. We both made stupid mistakes and it almost cost us our best friend.” Johnny swallows roughly. “I act like I don’t forgive you and I string you along with all these favors but I do, okay. I do forgive you and I just hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me too. Because I don’t know if you remember, but I picked that fight the night before the show and I still regret it.” 

“I never blamed you,” Johnny admits into the silence of the room. “I have nothing to forgive because I never saw it as your fault.” 

“I’m sorry anyway.” 

“Me too.” Seungcheol presses his lips together, looking away. “But you gotta do me a favor this time, okay?” Johnny asks, voice soft. When Seungcheol meets his eyes they glisten a little bit. As though with opportunity, the excitement to finally give Johnny something back for all he’s done. 

“Anything.”

“Tell me the truth right now. Do you have feelings for Taeyong?” 

“I…” he trails off, eyes darting around. “I don’t know yet. I might.” 

“That’s all I needed to know.” 

Kissing Joshua is not all consuming, Kun discovers, but it tastes a hell of a lot better than he expected.

Kissing Joshua is a slippery slope of sensation and feeling that has him reaching, grasping, hoping for more. He tilts his head back into the door as Joshua’s hands slide over his body, under his shirt and along his ribs, back down his waist and pushing his thigh between his own, hands cupping his ass. His own hands are tight around the hinge of Joshua’s jaw, pulling him in, keeping him trapped within reaching, kissing the breath out of each other. 

They push against each other, a desperate tempo of _harder, faster, more_ that leaves them breathless as Joshua finally pulls them away from the door and towards the bed. Joshua’s hands grab at him, tug him further into the room and Kun can do little else than stumble after him, breathing ragged as Joshua kisses his neck, bites bruises into the base of it, fingers tight where they’re pressing bruises into Kun’s hips through his jeans. 

They find a place to breathe when Joshua gets on top of Kun in his bed, hands resting low on Kun’s stomach. Kun looks up at him, eyes hazy, full lips kissed red and swollen. He feels bruised, a kind of heavy kissing, heavy petting soreness that he hasn’t felt in a very long time. His hands find Joshua’s where they rest on his stomach and he threads their fingers together, squeezing softly. 

“Stay the night,” Joshua tells him and Kun lifts a brow. “Don’t fuck me but stay the night this time. Don’t leave before dawn.” 

“What’re you looking for in me, Joshua?” Kun asks and Joshua shakes his head, a little wry smile on his lips. 

“Why do I have to need something from you, Kun?” he asks and Kun blinks up at him. “Why do I have to be looking for something at all? Maybe I just want you in my bed,” he suggests. He leans down and presses butterfly soft kisses to Kun’s lips. “Maybe I just don’t want to watch you walk away anymore. You keep showing up here but you never stay. Why don’t you try staying?” 

“Because staying has never really worked out for me,” Kun sighs, lips brushing Joshua’s with every word. “I always get hurt.” 

“I can’t promise that won’t happen but I can promise I’ll do everything I can to try and make sure it doesn’t. Is that okay?” 

“I can allow that.” 

Elation tapers off into bone deep exhaustion when Joshua finally stops kissing him. His face ends up tucked into Kun’s neck and Kun runs a hand up Joshua’s back, finger spanning the backside of his ribs. The bruising has long since gone down, not totally gone but enough that it doesn’t hurt anymore. His hand rests where Joshua’s aorta is, blood pumping beneath where he has his palm pressed. Joshua’s hands are on his waist and Kun tucks his nose into the disheveled black hair at the crown of Joshua’s head. 

Kun spends the night and he sleeps peacefully in Joshua’s arms.

He leaves after dawn, a kiss pressed to Joshua’s brow and a note left on the kitchen table. He’s wearing yesterday’s clothes and he’ll have to go home to change. He tries to control the silly smile on his face all the way to work but he knows he’s failed when he pours himself a cup of coffee and Mark is scrutinizing him from one of the tables. 

“Why are you so happy,” Mark asks but Kun merely turns to view him. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he retorts. Mark leans back in his chair with narrowed eyes however as Kun heads up the stairs and is satisfied when Kun lifts a hand to his collar, bringing attention to the bruising beginning there. 

No one in the warehouse comments on it but Johnny does poke it once, getting slapped on the arm for his antics. Johnny doesn’t have any sort of shame, however, and wanders down to the kitchen with a laugh, finding a disheveled Jeonghan in the kitchen, making himself a mug of coffee. Taeyong is already curled up on the sofa, a surprising sight for an hour so early in the morning, but he’s making conversation with Mark and Johnny smiles gently as he waits for Jeonghan to finish with the coffee for his turn. 

“Good morning, Jeonghan,” Johnny greets him and Jeonghan harrumphs softly. “Sleepy,” he coos, and Jeonghan nods, eyes still a bit blurry with sleep. “Well, you better wake up, Taeyong’s already leagues ahead of you,” he informs him, brushing some of Jeonghan’s hair away from his eyes and tucking it behind his ear. Jeonghan meets his gaze with wider eyes, Johnny smiling gently before going about his business.

He misses the way Jeonghan’s eyes follow him back up the stairs. 

S.V.T. Labs opens back up but Jeonghan and Taeyong remain on N.C.T. property until they can think of a better place for them. Johnny notes the constant comings and goings of one Choi Seungcheol as he begins meeting up with Taeyong and Jeonghan since being freed. Johnny thinks he’s still in talks with Dongyoung about a possible lawsuit against the city for unjust incarceration but Johnny can’t be certain. He also pegs the even more interesting appearances of Kun’s hickeys and the sudden disappearances of Jeonghan. 

It’s not that Jeonghan is ever truly missing but that he’s just not around the others. Johnny notices it when Seungcheol and Taeyong start appearing everywhere together, the lack of Jeonghan accompanying them. They seem to spend most of their time in their own little world anyway, the way Seungcheol will draw Taeyong in and not let him go. It’s intimate, a little bit excluding in a way that tells everyone around them that there is something there. Johnny doesn’t know that Seungcheol has told Taeyong how he feels but even if he hasn’t perhaps Taeyong has already figured it out. 

The cold snap has finally started to thaw out around them and Johnny has to fix the vents, again. The temperatures tend to sky rocket and it’s cool but not cold anymore. He expects the weather to get warm quickly and he climbs up to the rooftop, heaving himself over the edge of the hatch. He’s not at all surprised to see Jeonghan sitting near the edge again. 

“I keep telling you it’s dangerous up here,” Johnny reminds him but Jeonghan only shrugs his shoulders. He doesn’t even turn towards him where he’s sitting at the edge of the build, feet dangling over the metal siding and fingers curled over the lip. Johnny walks over to him, sitting cross legged behind him like he did all those days ago, the same places they were previously. “Thinking again?” he asks. 

“You had feelings for Seungcheol, right?” Jeonghan asks and Johnny hums in affirmation. “Does it hurt, seeing them together?” 

“No,” Johnny answers honestly and Jeonghan turns to look at him. “I’m happy that Seungcheol is moving on,” he says. 

The late winter / early spring wind whips through, chilly and sharp and blows Jeonghan’s hair around. It’s grown out a bit but all the same white blond it always has been, falling into his eyes in the breeze. Johnny reaches out to move it, tucking it behind Jeonghan’s ear. When he lowers his hand Jeonghan catches it before it gets too far and curls his fingers around Johnny’s. 

“I think I have feelings for you, Johnny,” he says. He says it in a matter-of-fact way, like he’s not scared of it and Johnny smiles gently at him. 

“Yeah?” Jeonghan nods and Johnny leans forward. He lifts his other hand to cup the back of Jeonghan’s head, pressing a kiss to his forehead sweetly. His eyes flutter shut softly and Johnny presses a line from his forehead to his nose, a couple to his cheeks, the corner of his lips. Jeonghan doesn’t open his eyes even when Johnny pulls back just enough to see all of his face, taking in the way Jeonghan’s tongue swipes across his lips to wet them. 

He closes the distance between them, pressing a delicate kiss to Jeonghan’s lips. Jeonghan kisses back, clumsy and inexperienced. Johnny’s hand on his head moves around to cup his cheek and adjusts the hold he has on Jeonghan’s hand to thread their fingers together. His slimmer, smaller fingers slide between Johnny’s own easily and Johnny sighs into his lips. 

“They say you can usually tell by a kiss,” Johnny says once he’s pulled away. Jeonghan’s big, brown eyes blink open to look at him. “What do you think?” 

“I have feelings for you,” Jeonghan says. “I don’t think they’re love but they’re… y’know, they’re something. What about you?” 

“I have feelings for you too,” Johnny replies, simple. “They’re not love but maybe they will be. One day.” 

“Will you kiss me again?” He asks and Johnny grins before closing the distance again. 

Everything is not nearly as simple as Johnny makes it out to be. He has feelings for someone that only vaguely knows what these feelings are. He’s fallen for someone that is not living or dead. He’s holding the hand of someone he truly cares for, the first one in a long time where their feelings sync up despite everything. Circumstance, chance, science. But he holds tight to Jeonghan’s jaw and kisses him sweet, Jeonghan’s free hand tangled in the hem of his shirt. 

Everything is uncertain. Nothing can be quantified that easily. People are not as simple as black and white and neither are the politics and sciences of pseudo-living creatures. That being said, Johnny is certain that as long as he gets to keep kissing Jeonghan everything will work out eventually.

**Author's Note:**

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